Sleepy Hollow (TV series)


Sleepy Hollow is an American supernatural drama television series that aired on Fox from September 16, 2013 to March 31, 2017. The series is loosely based on the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving with added concepts from "Rip Van Winkle", also by Irving. The series is initially set in real-life Sleepy Hollow, New York, although it portrays the town as much larger than it actually is. For the fourth and final season, the setting moved to Washington, D.C.
In October 2013, Sleepy Hollow was renewed for a second season with 13 episodes. The season was extended to 18 episodes in May 2014. Early in March 2015, Sleepy Hollow showrunner Mark Goffman left the series after the second season. On March 18, 2015, Sleepy Hollow was renewed for an 18-episode third season by Fox with a new showrunner, Clifton Campbell, taking over. In October 2015 Season 11 of Bones began a 2-part crossover concluding in season 3's "Dead Men Tell No Tales" which established Sleepy Hollow took place in that 2005 series' universe, also shared with 2012 series The Finder.
On May 13, 2016, Fox renewed the show for a fourth season which premiered on January 6, 2017. Albert Kim, previously an executive producer on the show, was named co-showrunner for the fourth season. The show was officially cancelled on May 9, 2017.

Summary

In 1781, Ichabod Crane works for George Washington as a double agent. Crane beheads a Horseman, who doesn't die; in desperation, Crane wins with a mutual blow. However, Crane next awakes in 2013 Sleepy Hollow with Washington's bible to guide him; he meets Lt. Abigail Mills, and learns the Horseman is back. Crane learns he and Abbie are the Witnesses and the Horseman is Death; should he get his head back, or his master, Moloch, be released from Purgatory, the End of Days will occur. Crane also learns his wife, Katrina, was a witch banished to Purgatory for saving him as his blunder linked his life with the Horseman's. Fighting off Moloch's army of demons, Crane learns the Horseman of War is his own son Jeremy Crane/Henry Parish, who loathes him and Katrina for abandoning him; he also learns "Headless" is his former friend Abraham Von Brunt. They manage to defeat Moloch, but at the cost of releasing everything trapped in Purgatory, including demons looking for a replacement for Moloch. Henry gets Katrina to side with him to awaken the descendants of their coven, but both are regretfully killed by Crane.
In the following months, Crane investigates all myths regarding the Witnesses, learning that Moloch was the first of the Seven Tribulations. The second comes in the form of Pandora, and her master the Hidden One, an ancient Sumerian god. As Moloch is dead, Crane gives the Horseman back his head, allowing him to destroy Pandora; however, the head is sucked into her box, which is destroyed. This battle cost Abigail her soul. Learning that there will always be two Witnesses, Crane vows to find her replacement to face the last five Tribulations.
Relocating to Washington D.C., Crane discovers the next Witness is a little girl named Molly; Crane works with her mother Agent Diana Thomas of Homeland Security to combat supernatural threats until Molly is old enough to help. Crane also allies with Agency 355 agents Jake Wells and Alex Norwood, taking command of the organization as Washington wished. The third tribulation comes in the form of Malcolm Dreyfuss, who sold his soul to build his business; he seeks immortality to avoid dying. After Dreyfuss becomes immortal, he decides to assemble the Four Horsemen to kill the president and take over America. A woman named Lara arrives from the future Dreyfuss wishes to create, revealing herself to be an alternate version of Molly; as a result of being in her prime, Lara gains the Witness title from Molly, freeing her past self from the burden. Crane is forced to make a deal with the devil for a piece of the philosophers' stone to strip Dreyfuss of his immortality, sending Dreyfuss to hell. While Lara goes on a journey to discover her place in the world, Crane continues working with Agent Thomas to combat supernatural threats with the hope he can escape his bargain with the devil.

Cast and characters

The pilot episode was filmed in Gastonia, Salisbury, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The rest of the first season and the second season were filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. The third and fourth seasons were filmed in Conyers and Lawrenceville, Georgia, in the metro Atlanta area.
Aerial footage for the series is filmed over the actual village of Sleepy Hollow and the surrounding Tappan Zee region of New York.

Episodes

Broadcast

Sleepy Hollow airs simultaneously on Global in Canada. For the third season, the show moved to CTV Two. In India, the series premiered on September 24, 2013 on Star World Premiere, where it ran for the first three seasons before moving to the network's sister-channel, Star World, for the final season.
In Australia, the series premiered on September 17, 2013 on Network Ten. The series was moved to Eleven on January 13, 2014. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series was acquired by the Universal Channel, which premiered it on October 9, 2013. The second season debuted on October 15, 2014 and the third season debuted on October 22, 2015. Season 4 premiere on Syfy February 22, 2017.
In South Africa, the second season began airing on M-Net Edge alongside the network's launch on October 20, 2014. In Thailand, the series aired on Channel 3 every Thursday night starting November 26, 2015.

Reception

Sleepy Hollow has received generally favorable reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a rating of 77%, based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite its overstuffed plot, Sleepy Hollow is a fun romp with exciting action scenes and sparkling production values." On Metacritic the first season has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Verne Gay of Newsday commented that although there is "nothing scary here", the show is "fun enough". Robert Bianco of USA Today gave the show 3 out of 4 stars. Entertainment Weekly, which originally doubted the premise of the show, gave the show a B+ after seeing the first half of the first season, citing the Crane & Mills' chemistry and the show's surprisingly fun mythology. Time called Sleepy Hollow one of 2013's Ten Best new shows.
The series premiered on September 16, 2013 to 10 million viewers with 3.5 rating/9 share which was double the amount that Fox's The Mob Doctor brought in at the same time last year and marked the network's highest rated fall drama premiere since the 2006 police drama Standoff. In Australia the first episode had 597,000 viewers and in the United Kingdom the same episode had 527,000 viewers.
In the real Sleepy Hollow, New York, the local newspaper has regularly enumerated the many fanciful fictions told about the village, including its labyrinth of Revolutionary-era tunnels and a vast increase in population.
Season 2 was met with more favorable reviews, holding a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus reads, "Sleepy Hollow continues to pack a punch in its sophomore season, with fantastic writing and lots of chills."

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Home media