‘Sleepy Hollow’ Showrunner Promises a More Fun and Fan-Friendly Season 3

Paranormal investigators Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) have battled a number of freaky monsters during the first two seasons of Sleepy Hollow, from the Headless Horseman to the demon Moloch. When they reunite for the show’s third year, though, they’ll be confronting a creature that’s far more intimidating: unhappy fans. Last year, Sleepy Hollow fell victim to the dreaded “sophomore slump,” with convoluted storylines, an increasingly dense mythology, and unpopular characters steadily eroding the series’ once-mighty ratings and, worse still, its once-devoted fanbase.

The carnage wrought by Season 2 eventually claimed multiple victims, including Ichabod’s wife — and chief object of fan derision — Katrina (Katia Winter, who was fully aware of her unpopularity), who died in the season finale; fan favorite Frank Irving (Orlando Jones), who came back from the dead, only to leave the series between seasons; and showrunner Mark Goffman, who was replaced during the hiatus by Clifton Campbell. So how does Campbell plan on subduing the dreaded fandom beast? With one simple word: Fun. “The second season had so much mythology, it sort of overshadowed what was successful about the first season, which was the fun balance of character development and mythology,” Campbell tells Yahoo TV. “My mandate was to recalibrate that balance.” Speaking to us before the season premiere, Campbell outlined five reasons why fans should be excited for Season 3, which premieres Oct. 1 on Fox.

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1. Ichabod and Abbie Are Jumping Forward in Time (Again)
While Season 2 began mere moments after Season 1 finished, there’s a longer gap between Season 2 and Season 3, affording the dynamic duo plenty of time to move on to new stages in their lives. “Approximately nine months have passed between seasons and in that time skip, Abbie and Ichabod have found new directions,” Campbell says. For Abbie, that means trading her job on the police force for a career as an FBI agent. Meanwhile, the suddenly single Ichabod is exploring the history of the Crane name and traveling abroad to England to get in touch with his roots. But inevitably both return to their old Sleepy Hollow stomping grounds just in time for a new threat to arise, one that kicks off the second of seven tribulations that fall under their job description as Witnesses. “Framing Season 3 around this Second Tribulation has been a boon for our storytelling and this season’s Big Bad,” Campbell says. “Unlike with Moloch, we’ve been able to find real human moments that are a lot more relatable with our characters.”

2. The Scooby Gang is Getting a New Member
With Irving gone, there’s an open spot on Sleepy Hollow’s “Scooby Gang” (a nickname that’s owed to both Scooby-Doo and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), which currently consists of Ichabod, Abbie, and Abbie’s sister, Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood). To make the trio a quartet again, Campbell promoted a semi-familiar face: Joe Corbin (Zach Appelman), the son of the town’s dearly departed sheriff, August Corbin (Clancy Brown), who perished way back in the series premiere. Appelman previously appeared in a Season 2 episode, “The Wendigo,” and he’ll become a key component in the way the show’s mythology develops this year. “Once we dropped Joe into the mix, the stories just exploded. It helped us open up the real mythology that August found and instilled in his children, of which we include Jenny and Abbie because he was virtually their father, too,” Campbell says.

3. Irving Isn’t Necessarily Gone For Good
When you’ve already experienced one death and resurrection, there’s always a way of making another grand re-entrance. So just because Jones and Sleepy Hollow have parted ways off-camera, it may not be the end of Irving’s story. “During the first two seasons, he was trying to balance keeping his family safe with keeping the world safe. So it felt right at the start of the season that he would have made his family the priority. We also felt that we’d have some energy in the central group if we could add some new blood and see what would come out of that,” Campbell says. But he is quick to add that he’s open to the possibility of welcoming Irving back into the fold. “It’s Sleepy Hollow — anything can happen!” Anything, that is, besides the return of Katrina, who will remain dead and buried for the foreseeable future. “As far as we’re concerned, the book on her is closed,” he promises.

4. There’s More (Alternate) History
Season 3 will continue Sleepy Hollow’s paranormal history of America, in which the nation’s origins are inextricably tied to demons and other supernatural forces. The first big story arc will incorporate renowned flag-sewer Betsy Ross (played by Twilight star Nikki Reed), who in this version of events, enjoyed a secret career as an 18th century Jason Bourne. “We’ll find out that she was an operative in George Washington’s spy ring,” Campbell says. “And we’re going to tell a story that will culminate with a very iconic image: George Washington crossing the Delaware. Only we’re going to learn that there’s a whole lot more to the painting than anyone ever realized.” Meanwhile, in the present day, Ichabod decides to make his American residency official by becoming a citizen… and getting tangled up in the bureaucratic red tape involved along the way. “It’s funny to have someone who was there at the beginning of America go through the steps of becoming a citizen,” Campbell says.

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5. The Writers Will Be Listening
While the fan response to Season 2 was dispiriting, Campbell says that it also proved instructive as he took the reins for Season 3. And he and the rest of the creative team will continue to monitor fan feedback as the season progresses. “The fan reaction is something I like and enjoy. Whether their response is good or bad, fans watch and embrace the show for what it is, and it’s our responsibility to keep in touch with them. We can’t do everything that everybody wants, because the show would look like a zebra. But as long as we maintain the spirit of what they fell in love with, we can write to that and create character development based on that,” he says. “We know what they’re concerns are and we’re going to respond to them with the episodes [we’re making]. We can assure them they’ll be happy with Season 3.”

Sleepy Hollow returns Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. on Fox.