‘Sherlock’ Scheduled to Leave Netflix in May 2021

It looks as though one of the most popular BBC series and the greatest British show on Netflix could leave the streaming site in May. Netflix will end all 4 seasons of Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman on May 15, 2021.

Sherlock Holmes, a modernized version of Conan Doyle's characters, is now living in 21st-century London solving crime.

All four seasons consisting of 16 episodes total will leave as part of May’s removals.

In case you didn’t know, Netflix licenses a lot of its content and as such, essentially only rents the show to be available for a fixed period of time. It’s hard to predict when these contracts come up although in Sherlock’s case, it seems to be 4 years to the day after the most recent season was added.

Netflix Canada and USA are currently subject to the removal date. This applies to all international locations, including Israel, France and Hong Kong.

Netflix UK doesn’t currently show a removal date for Sherlock so it would appear it’s safe there for now. However, you can stream the entire series on BBC iPlayer.

Many would’ve been hoping for season 5 of Sherlock coming to Netflix but that doesn’t appear to be in development given how busy the two main actors are.

After Sherlock leaves Netflix, where will Sherlock be streamed?

You may wonder where Sherlock's next streaming destination will be if Sherlock leaves Netflix. There’s no definitive answer just yet but we’ve got a few guesses. HBO Max seems the most logical home after the service managed to acquire some of the BBC’s biggest titles for launch in 2020. It could’ve been the case that Sherlock was included once the rights expired.

You’ve also got BBC’s own efforts in the US with BritBox but it’s likely the BBC will want the highest bidder for this one.

In other regions, it’ll likely be the highest bidder but for the moment, no lists currently reveal a new home.

It could, however, take back the rights if Netflix leaves. It has an interest in Sherlock Holmes with Enola Holmes, a sequel, The Irregulars, and the Sherlock Junior movie.

It’s not the only BBC series set to leave Netflix on May 15th either. The UK's first children series, Learning Time with Timmy (which aired in the UK) and Two seasons of Twirlywoos (which consists of 100 episodes each), are also due to go.

Do you think Sherlock will be missed by Netflix viewers? Comment below.