Fox has already renewed Sleepy Hollow for Season 3, but when the supernatural drama returns to the schedule next fall, it will be without one of its key players. Today, word broke that Orlando Jones, who plays Captain Frank Irving on the series, will not be returning for Sleepy Hollow’s third season.
Currently, there’s no word on why Orlando Jones is exiting the drama. Variety first noted that Jones would be leaving, although Fox did not give the outlet a comment regarding the exit. However, if you watched any or all of Sleepy Hollow’s uneven second season, you might have some ideas regarding why Jones might want to leave.
Honestly, Captain Frank Irving’s trajectory on the series was super scatterbrained during Season 2. (Spoilers) He spent the first part of the season behind bars, where fans barely saw the fan favorite character. Then, he was given the opportunity to be a super ninja badass on the show, which actually caused him to be killed off during the winter finale.
At the time, we thought that was the end of Captain Frank Irving, but the show brought him back from the dead, leading to a tenuous betrayal plotline where he fought to be good while playing on the side of evil on the series. His soul was eventually released, so I guess all is well that end’s well and he can now rejoin his family, but we wish he had been written a less twisted role during the second season.
Sleepy Hollow is in serious need of some streamlining during Season 3. The show has already taken steps to go in a different direction. The final few episodes during Season 2 saw Ichabod’s son and baddie Henry die and then Ichabod’s wife Katrina follow him. In addition, showrunner Mark Goffman has also quit and has been replaced with The Glades’ Clifton Campbell. Captain Frank Irving is just the latest change/casualty.
With all of those changes in mind, perhaps it’s best that Captain Frank Irving has already had his last hurrah on the series and will go out on a high note. Still, it’s safe to say we’ll miss him and his sometimes-rocky relationships with the gang on the series. I wish he was headed back into the captain's chair, but maybe this will give the TV series the opportunity to flesh out characters like Sheriff Reyes, who have been fairly mysterious so far. And to bring on more Hawley in Season 3, I guess.
