'Sherlock' Season 4 Air Date, Premiere & Trailer: Expect a Different Sherlock in The Special Episode, 'Sherlock is a Little More Polished' Says Moffat -- Release Date Details!

After almost two years of being away from the small screens, favorite British detective Sherlock Holmes will soon return. Producer Steve Mofatt announced last year that a special "Sherlock" episode would air around Christmas 2015 and we are just a few weeks away from it. So, what can fans expect in the special episode?

The team behind the anticipated TV show "Sherlock" is aware that fans are dying to see the next season. To appease the eager fans, Mofatt will release a special episode before "Sherlock" season 4 airs.

iDigitalTimes reported that the special episode will be titled "Sherlock: The Abominable Bride" and it will be taking the viewers back to the Victorian era. Per DigitalSpy, Mofatt revealed that the decision to use the Victorian era setting was based purely on his desire to see Sherlock and John Watson in the traditional era.

"We've got, I think you can safely say, the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson of a generation - we want to see them do it in the proper outfits, just once," said Mofatt at the backstage of the House of Fraser BAFTA Television Awards. "That makes them the only two who've done both [period and contemporary] - apart from [Basil] Rathbone and [Nigel] Bruce, who we venerate, of course."

So, since the special "Sherlock" episode will be traditional, what can fans expect from the favorite all-time detective? The report suggested that he will not only look different in terms of his settings and wardrobe, but fans will see a major shift in his personality as well.

Moffat teased that, in the special episode, Sherlock will be nicer. The episode will feature a polished Victorian gentleman. "Sherlock is a little more polished," the co-showrunner told Entertainment Weekly. "He operates like a Victorian gentleman instead of a posh, rude man. He's a lot less brattish."

While a gentle and polite Sherlock is a nice change for the show, many are concerned that it might backfire in their ratings. The prominent consulting detective is popular for his personality, which includes a high level of stubbornness and inability to empathize with others. The titular character thinks that emotions obstruct one's ability to reason out logically.

However, Moffat assured that this new Sherlock would only be temporary because the special episode is a stand-alone episode. "The special is its own thing," he said. "It's not part of the run of three episodes...it had to be a separate entity on its own. It's kind of in its own little bubble."

"Sherlock: The Abominable Bride" will air in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2016 at 9 p.m. ET on Masterpiece on PBS and on the same date in the UK on the BBC.