It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood of Pasadena, California, where PBS has kicked off three days of presentations at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour. That’s a good thing, because outside of the Langham Huntington Hotel, where the TCA Tour has been underway since January 9, a crowd of “Sherlock” fans have gathered in the hopes of glimpsing the great detective himself — or rather, his alter-ego Benedict Cumberbatch.
“It’s kind of extraordinary and a little unnerving,” Cumberbatch admitted to critics when asked what he thought about the assembly his presence inspired. “…They are so supportive, loyal and, by and large, intelligent.” For the most part, Cumberbatch added, his fans in America and the U.K. respect his privacy. He still takes public transportation, for example. Then again, there are the occasional times that his stardom gets in the way of enjoying simple things. He shared the tale of a restaurant server who recognized him and made a simple dinner order of a chicken dish take half a hour to complete.
Cumberbatch’s live appearance at Press Tour comes a day after “Sherlock’s” premiere on PBS after a nearly two -year hiatus from American television. Although it did not return to “Downton Abbey” numbers, the season three premiere attracted an average of 4 million viewers, according to numbers provided by “Masterpiece” series executive producer Rebecca Eaton. (“Downton”, meanwhile, was up from its premiere, garnering 8.4 million viewers for last night’s airing of the second episode.)
The successes of “Sherlock” and “Downton” with American audiences have obviously proven very beneficial to PBS but, between those titles and the addition of the Jeremy Piven-led series “Mr Selfridge” to the schedule, the “Masterpiece” franchise is in better financial shape than it’s been in a long time. Prior to the “Masterpiece” panels for “Mr Selfridge” and “Sherlock”, Eaton shared that the series’ underwriting slots are sold out through 2014 thanks to Viking Cruises and Ralph Lauren.
That’s a remarkable turn of events from just a few years ago, when Masterpiece’s continued existence was hanging by a tether following the departure of its previous and sole underwriter ExxonMobil, which withdrew its support of the series in 2004. (Viking Cruises eventually stepped in as an underwriter in 2011.)
While Masterpiece has benefited from the rising fortunes of the PBS schedule’s crown jewels, “Sherlock’s” star also has gained a great deal of prominence from occupying the role, as have the series’ executive producers Steven Moffat and his wife Sue Vertue. The producers told critics that the BBC’s head of drama will keep picking it up as long as they want to keep making it, and Moffat joked that they’ll keep on wanting to make more “Sherlock” episodes until Cumberbatch “gets too famous or precious.” The team is currently working on diaries for the fourth and fifth seasons.
“Why is it always me?” Cumberbatch shot back in jest. Well, probably because he was the half of the “Sherlock” duo who was in the room. Martin Freeman, the Watson to Cumberbatch’s Holmes, is currently in Calgary shooting “Fargo” for FX.
In his absence, however, Cumberbatch spoke highly of his co-star and the unique onscreen chemistry that they share. “There’s something that just happens. When Martin walked into the room, I raised my game… Chemistry is what happens when you’re learning from the people around you.”
New season three episodes of “Sherlock” are currently airing on PBS member stations around the U.S. on Sundays at 9:58pm ET/PT. Check your local listings.