Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are probably going to make Dracula the next Sherlock

Sherlock’s Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss will be turning their attention to another piece of classic literature with Dracula.

Sherlock has not died yet. However, presumably at least partially due to the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have joined the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has basically gone on … sabbatical, shall we say. Since Moffat is also stepping away from Doctor Who, he has some time on his hands. At least, that’s the conclusion we’re making based on Variety‘s news that he and Gatiss are now working on a new version of Dracula.

Now, Variety clarifies that the show might not do what Sherlock did for Mr. Holmes — that is, put everyone in a modern setting. But considering how that turned out, it seems like it wouldn’t really be outside the realm of possibility.

Which is, as you may expect, not the world’s greatest idea. Sherlock first aired in 2010, prior to Elementary. There wasn’t as much competition in the realm of TV, any movie adaptations starring Robert Downey Jr. notwithstanding. But vampires?

There are many, many vampire series out there. For example, The Vampire Diaries just came to an end. Meanwhile, True Blood still has a hold in the public consciousness (and is probably at least partially why NBC is airing another of Charlaine Harris’ series in Midnight, Texas this summer). In fact, The Originals is still airing!

That leads to another issue. As Variety points out, Sherlock got big internationally. Any sort of take on Dracula would presumably have a harder time of it based on such vampiric saturation. Even if they manage to cast the next Cumberbatch as Dracula or Jonathan Harker, that’s still a bigger hill to climb.

Speaking of the Harkers, Dracula has a very weird relationship with its women, like Mina Murray Harker. Put it this way: there’s a 35-page thesis primarily on Mina readily available from Trinity University in the United Kingdom that has a two-page bibliography. Remember how Sherlock brought in a sister for the Holmeses? Now think about what may happen to Lucy Westenra and Mina in the hands of Gatiss and Moffat.

In that same recap, we noted that Sherlock went back to the same stories despite having a large pool to draw from. However, Dracula is one book. Indeed, Variety explicitly states it’ll use the same format as Sherlock of long episodes for miniseries. How is that going to work?

More accurately, how long is this going to last?

Next: Doctor Who S10E10 review: 'The Eaters of Light'

Frankly, why do we need this series?