Sleepy Hollow wrapped up its second season just a few weeks ago with a compelling storyline that sent heroine Lieutenant Abbie Mills back in time to the Revolutionary War. Despite the uptick in the potential of the last few episodes of the season, overall viewership has declined on the Fox drama, and this week the show suffered another blow. Executive Producer and showrunner Mark Goffman has officially stepped down from the drama.
It was revealed that Goffman quit the show on Tuesday. According to TV Line, the search for a replacement showrunner on the Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie-led series is already underway. That might seem like good news for those who are hoping that Sleepy Hollow earns a third season order from Fox, but coupled with the show’s middling ratings, having to hunt for a new showrunner with a vision for the series seems daunting.
During Season 1, Sleepy Hollow was a ratings winner. The show’s incredibly fun premiere episode nabbed more than 10 million total viewers, and the show subsequently stuck with an average of 8 million total viewers, prompting Fox to sign on for extra episodes during Season 2. Unfortunately, Season 2’s numbers have not been so high, averaging more than 4 million total viewers but less than 5 million an episode. The numbers have actually been pretty steady, which is why the series isn’t a total disaster, but we have been keeping an eye on the show’s numbers since late in the fall.
Obviously, Fox hasn’t decided to axe the series just yet, which is good because Lietenant Mills and Ichabod Crane’s partnership is one of the most dynamic duos on television right now. In addition, when the drama is on, it is really on, with action-packed storylines that mix fish-out-of-water humor with historical tie-ins and supernatural demons. It’s a pretty intriguing series, just one that was dragged down by characters like Katrina during the show’s second season. (C’mon, you know you have a problem when your actress is even admitting her character sucks.)
The last two episodes of Sleepy Hollow's second season were among the most compelling TV moments I’ve seen this year, and if the show had managed to work in Katrina’s bad attitude a little earlier, doubtless viewers would have been a little more on the edge of their seats all season. In addition, now that Frank Irving has—hopefully-returned to the fold, the dynamics we loved during Season 1 should reappear during a potential Season 3. Since things don't look so hot for Sleepy Hollow at the moment, we just need to hope it's not too little, too late.
Fox’s other Monday night drama, Gotham, has already been renewed for a second season. You can check out our full cancellation and renewal list here.
