When Nicole Beharie’s Abbie Mills sacrificed her life during the Season 3 finale of “Sleepy Hollow,” fans were shocked and saddened with the fate of the character.
Many fans questioned the decision of the writers to kill off a major character. Some petitions online surfaced pleading the return of Abbie.
Many thought that with Abbie’s death, plus the show’s plummeting ratings, Season 3 would be the last of the Fox series. However, they were once again shocked when the network renewed the show for one more season.
Fox President David Madden said that doing another “Sleepy Hollow” season without Nicole Beharie was a difficult decision.
The network exec acknowledged that Beharie’s character and her tandem with Tom Mison’s Ichabod Crane were the backbones of the show.
Madden reveals that the show was supposed to end by the third season, but the producers were very emotional and came to him and said that there has to be another season because the fans need to be satisfied.
He adds that the writers’ pitch ultimately made them decide to continue with the fourth season. Madden says that the new season will have a quite different storyline from the past three seasons.
The decision to go on with another season of “Sleepy Hollow” had been controversial especially among Abbie Mills’ supporters. Fans have been clamoring to give a proper closure to Abbie and Ichabod and their story.
Parent Herald reports that the upcoming season will be a reboot of the series with Ichabod moving to Washington D.C. from New York to start anew. The website says that departing from the village of “Sleepy Hollow” will make the season more authentic than its previous installments.
With Crane moving to a new place, he will not only leave the memories of Abbie but the surviving characters of the previous seasons as well.
Lyndie Greenwood’s Jenny Mills will remain in Ichabod’s life as the actress has been confirmed to return for the fourth season.
Lance Gross and Jessica Camacho, who plays FBI agents, Daniel Reynolds and Sophie Foster, respectively, have also exited the series after the third season.
It was teased that Camacho might return for a few episodes which the actress responded positively to.
However, speaking to TV Line recently, executive producer Clifton Campbell revealed that Abbie will pay the occasional visit in the upcoming season. The showrunner did not say if Beharie will be returning or if Mills is going to return in a different form.
Ichabod’s life in Washington will lead her to Diana, the witness to Abbie’s sacrifice who happens to be a Secret Service Agent for Homeland Security.
She’s a former military person and because of her intensive background, she sees to it that her task is done at all times. This is in total contrast to Crane’s systematic and well-researched method of carrying out a mission.
Diana will be played by “True Blood” alum, Janina Gavankar. Aside from being an agent, Diana is also the mother of Molly Thomas, played by Junior Masterchef contestant Oona Yaffe.
Reports suggest that Gavankar will somehow fill in for Beharie as Ichabod’s new partner in crime. Producers tease that Gavankar’s presence will add more flavor to the series amid her status as a recurring cast only.
Reports say that Fox has made a huge risk with giving the go signal for a new season of “Sleepy Hollow,” but if Gavankar and Mison can bring a whole lot more to the table then it might be the change the show needs to get a Season 5.
Despite clashing with how they deal with problems, spoilers say that Crane and Diana will find some sort of connection that will unfold in the upcoming season.
Joining the new season are Rachel Melvin and Jerry MacKinnon. Melvin will play Alex Norwood while MacKinnon will play Jake Wells.