Benedict Cumberbatch thinks Martin Freeman’s ‘Sherlock’ comment about fans is ‘pretty pathetic’

Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t agree with his “Sherlock” co-star Martin Freeman’s assessment of their fans. Martin, who played Watson to Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, thought the fans made shooting the show not fun anymore.

“Sherlock,” which first aired in 2010, has had only four seasons so far, with each one having just three episodes and a special. Co-creator Steven Moffat previously said the main actors’ popularity meant they had more work from others, and therefore they had less time to shoot the show.

But Martin had a different take on the delay. In an interview with the Telegraph UK last month, Martin expressed how demanding fans have ruined the show.

“People’s expectations, some of it is not fun anymore,” he said. “It’s not a thing to be enjoyed; it’s a thing of, ‘You better f------ do this, otherwise you’re a c---.’ That’s not fun anymore.”

For Cumberbatch, though, he thought it was “pretty pathetic” to think that fans ruined how the show was made. While he understood the pressure of making a popular TV series, he didn’t agree with it being a deterrent.

“It’s pretty pathetic if that’s all it takes to let you not want to take grip of your reality. What, because of expectations? He told Telegraph UK in a separate interview this week. “I don’t know. I don’t necessarily agree with that.”

He knew about how obsessive fans can be, though. “There’s a level of obsession where [the franchise] becomes theirs even though we’re the ones making it,” he said. “But I just don’t feel affected by that in the same way, I have to say.”

“Sherlock” aired its fourth season in 2017, ending it without unresolved conflict. Perhaps so it’s a complete series if they decided not to shoot season 5 any longer.

If the season never gets made, however, Cumberbatch and Freeman might still be able to work together. Both play characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cumberbatch plays Dr Stephen Strange in “Avengers: Infinity War,” while Freeman played Everett K Ross in the previous “Captain America: Civil War” and “Black Panther” films.

They also appeared in “The Hobbit” film series. Freeman played the titular character, Bilbo Baggins, while Cumberbatch voiced the dragon Smaug.