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Sherlock and his sidekick Watson return in the upcoming special 鈥淪herlock: The Abominable Bride鈥� 鈥� but they will look a bit different than viewers remember.

A new installment of the BBC show 鈥淪herlock鈥� arrives on Jan. 1 for US and British viewers. But unlike the rest of the episodes of the series, which center on a modern version of Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman), solving crimes, the new installment 鈥淪herlock: The Abominable Bride鈥� will be set in the Victorian era.聽

The original 鈥淪herlock鈥� stories by Arthur Conan Doyle were set in what was then the author鈥檚 present day. Doyle began publishing his 鈥淪herlock鈥� stories in the late nineteenth century.

Fans are eagerly awaiting the installment of the critically acclaimed series, as the last season of 鈥淪herlock鈥� ended in the US in February 2014 and even earlier in England. And the BBC has been listening to American fans.聽

The simultaneous US and British air date for the upcoming 鈥淪herlock鈥� special represents a capitulation to fans鈥� requests. In the past, hit British series like 鈥淒ownton Abbey鈥� and 鈥淪herlock鈥� aired in America some time after the original air date, and fans complained of having learned about plot developments early.聽

鈥淏ride鈥� is the first time a 鈥淪herlock鈥� episode will air in both areas on the same day.聽

鈥淪herlock鈥� is also following in the steps of successful TV shows 鈥淒octor Who鈥� and 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� 鈥� 聽the episode 鈥淏ride鈥� will come to movie theaters as well, with the episode debuting in select theaters on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.聽

The box office performances of installments of 鈥淲ho鈥� and 鈥淭hrones鈥� have surprised industry watchers in the past, especially considering the episodes in question had already aired on TV. However, one of the episodes of 鈥淭hrones鈥� that came to movie theaters was a battle-centric episode, so viewers may have been lured by the idea of seeing the sequences on the big screen.