Sherlock Holmes Hitting Comic-Con Before Season 3 Release: Will BBC Series Premiere Spike Illegal Downloads In The US?

Fans of the BBC hit series "Sherlock" can now look forward to the recently announced San Diego Comic-Con panel, which will surely tease the upcoming season 3.

IGN confirms that the panel will include co-creator, executive producer, and writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (who plays Mycroft on the show), although it looks like Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman won't be making an appearance due to their film commitments.

"Sherlock," in fact, may be the first PBS series to grace the 44-year-old convention, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Unfortunately, an exact date won't be confirmed until tomorrow by Comic-Con, with certain "surprises" yet to come for the panel.

What has been confirmed, however, is that while "Sherlock" will get a fall release date on BBC for season 3, the PBS premiere will not land in North America until 2014.

For PBS fans, the channel must wait for the BBC episode to finish airing before premiering stateside. And while this used to mean patiently (or not) waiting for season 3, the likelihood is that many viewers will attempt to illegally download the episodes during the BBC run.

As we've seen with "Game of Thrones," it is all about immediacy and availability, and torrenting is at an all-time high. However, with Cumberbatch ("Star Trek: Into Darkness") and Freeman ("The Hobbit") starring in big blockbusters, popularity for "Sherlock" should be higher than ever.

Stay tuned for more Comic-Con announcements!