‘Sleepy Hollow’ Renewed: Can Season 3 Bring Ratings Back Up?

Fox has renewed its headless horseman drama Sleepy Hollow for a third season. While fans will be able to see Ichabod Crane and others return for more adventures, the bigger question is if the series can find a way to attract more viewers.

According to TVLine, the ratings for Sleepy Hollow were down 40 percent compared to its first season. In addition, Mark Goffman, who served as showrunner, announced that he would be leaving the series. For some time, it was uncertain if Sleepy Hollow would get renewed. But Fox has decided to pick up the series for at least 18 more episodes, and Clifton Campbell is stepping in to replace Goffman.

David Madden, the president of Fox, issued a statement saying he is excited to see what Campbell will bring to Sleepy Hollow.

“I had the pleasure of working with Clifton on both The Glades and White Collar. He is an excellent producer, and we can’t wait to see what this team has in store for Season 3.”

Back in January, Fox TV Group chairman Dana Walden told Deadline that the possible reason for Sleepy Hollow dipping in the ratings could be because of the direction the series took. Prior to the announcement that it had been renewed, Walden said they wanted to get Sleepy Hollow back to how it was before.

“We are excited about some creative changes on the show. We want to get back to something that feels a little bit more episodic in nature, it has become overly serialized. We are trying to return the fun to it a little bit. This is all about calibrating the show, not making dramatic changes.”

Details on Season 3 of Sleepy Hollow are scant right now, but Fox did issue a press release, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on what fans can expect. It should be noted that the press release does contain spoilers.

“The jaw-dropping conclusion of Season 2 left Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and Lieutenant Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) with a decisive, albeit heartbreaking, victory over evil. In the name of good, Crane made the ultimate decision to kill his wife, Katrina Crane (Katia Winter). With evil seemingly at bay, the third season will explore how the partnership between Crane and Mills will evolve and what challenges these two witnesses will now face.”

Now that it’s renewed, Sleepy Hollow will also be changing its filming location. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the first two seasons were filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. But since the state has reduced its tax credits for film and television production, the new season will be filmed in Atlanta, Georgia.

[Image credit: Fox via Fanpop]