Hiatus Helper: The Sleepy Hollow EPs Share Season Two Scoop [INTERVIEWS] 

WARNING: Spoilers for Sleepy Hollow season two

We are currently knee deep into a long Sleepy Hollow hiatus. Season one ended back in January. Can you believe it? TV Goodness wants to do a little something to help alleviate the pain this extended break is causing you (and us). So we hit the red carpet of the recent For Your Consideration Emmy event that took place at LA’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There we interviewed the amazing stars of this FOX series, Nicole Beharie and Tom Mison. We also got the chance to speak with the Sleepy Hollow executive producers. Every hardcore TV fan knows that it’s the EPs that have all the scoop. So here’s what we found out:

One of the best things about season two is the fact that the cast and the producers will have 18 episodes to tell the next chapter of their story. The EPs seemed extremely excited and a tiny bit terrified by these additional hours of TV.

Roberto Orci: We would have been scared if we didn’t know what the heck we wanted to do with it. But actually we were like — hey — we actually have enough story. Yeah, I want to see another 18. For us, at first we were scared. And then we thought, we can do it. We can totally do it. And we’re gonna have fun doing it.

Heather Kadin: And we love the show. And I think everyone involved…I know the crew is really excited. The writers…you know, there are a lot of stories to tell. And we love these characters so to give an audience more of them, is great.

Len Wiseman: It both…feels gratifying. It obviously means that people want more. It’s also more to do in a certain amount of time. It allows you to expand the story. But also it’s just a challenge to make sure that our show stays at a level and an aesthetic. We’re trying to do a mini-movie every week. We will continue to do so. It just means that we don’t sleep.

The show dealt us all a massive cliffhanger at the end of season one. Everyone was in a precarious position. So we had to wonder…at the beginning of season two, which character is going to be the most difficult to save?

Heather: Well, Irving is going to take the longest. Just in the sense of…he’s actually incarcerated.

Roberto: And Katrina is going to take a long time because Headless really likes that girl. You know, he’s not gonna let her go.

Heather: Abbie’s going to take a while too…

Roberto: You know what? They’re all really up the creek.

Heather: They’re screwed, basically! (laughter) I hope they get out. I don’t know.

Roberto: We’re arguing about it. I love it. That shows you. It’s a big problem.

Heather: It’s a conundrum.

Mark Goffman: No one is in an easy situation. There were many points when we were like, oh God, are we writing ourselves in a box here? Because every one of them is in such a precarious situation. But I think that’s part of the fun and the challenge of the show. It won’t be easy for anybody to get out. But the first episode is really all about trying to get Abbie and Crane — they’re in the most peril. It’s gonna take a while. It’s definitely not something that we can resolve in one episode…at all.

The EPs talked about the season two premiere. The first thing we found out was that there’s no big time jump. None.

Roberto: We pick up right where we left off. So it’s not seven years later. It’s not ten years later. It’s a hundred years later. No. We’re picking up right where we left off so…none of the characters know where the others ended up. They actually have to figure out — assuming they all live — what happened. It’s a lot of, like the audience, figuring out who’s where. How are we gonna get out of this? And who’s left? Who’s alive?

Len: We put our characters in such peril that I think it would be unfair not to answer some questions about how they were going to get out of these situations. So we pick up right where we left off.

We of course needed to get some info on our favorite friends [that need to be more] — Abbie and Ichabod. 

Len: Their relationship is going to be challenged. We wanted to really play up the loyalties and as their friendship is building they’re also going to be really challenged by decisions that they have to make in terms of people that they love and care about and ultimately maybe have to sacrifice. And are both of them willing to sacrifice those people for the greater good? And there will be conflict with that.

Roberto: They’re sort of switching sides a little bit because now Abbie’s sort of accepted everything. She was the skeptic at first and now she realizes I really am one of these biblical witnesses. So she’s ready to fight. She knows that’s what she’s got to do. Meanwhile, Crane just found out that the villain is his son. So honestly he’s conflicted now and she’s got a clarity of purpose. So they’re still friends. They’re still united but…they’re coming at it from different ways. So how will that either bring chemistry or conflict, we shall see.

 As far as some of the other characters, Irving is in a world of trouble. However we will see his family [Jill Marie Jones and Amandla Stenberg] again.

Heather. His wife and his daughter play a big role. And really a big part of what he’s going to have to deal with inside. And he may or may not make a deal with somebody he shouldn’t be making a deal with. It’s going to impact his family and his relationships.

And of course there’s Henry Parish. He [and John Noble] will be a major force in season two.

Mark: This is now going to be a season about War. We’ve introduced this incredible actor as our big villain for the season. And we’re gonna see what effect it has on the town of Sleepy Hollow now that we’ve introduced War. And thematically the season is really about War and Redemption. We’re really testing a lot of family ties. I mean what do you do when you’re son is…it’s bad parenting. He’s the Horseman of War. It’s hard to do much worse. Yeah, my son didn’t turn out that well. He’s the Horseman of the Apocalypse. So Crane and Katrina really have to figure out…can they redeem him? Is there anything worth redeeming? Is he gonna kill them? Or can we kill him? All of that I think is going to play out over the course of a season. It’s gonna be a lot of them.

There are going to be several new characters populating the second season. One of the major newbies will be one of America’s most famous historical figures. We’re not worried. This show made George Washington flashbacks work. They can do anything.

Len: One of the major characters that we’re going to meet is Benjamin Franklin [played by Timothy Busfield] in a very fun and kind of weird, I think, view on him that is a lot of fun to show. And then a few of the creatures as well. We have a creature called The Kindred, which Abbie and Crane try to resurrect. Kindred meaning that it is a likeness and a kind of a doppleganger for the headless horseman to defeat him. In essence they have to create a monster to fight a monster. Things may or may not go well with that.

All in all, we liked what we were hearing and can’t wait for Monday Sept. 22 for Sleepy Hollow to return. It’s one of those shows that was a hit right out of the gate. And EP/Showrunner Mark Goffman gave us a few reasons why the show works so well. 

Mark: It’s a combination of a lot of factors that all really fortunately came together. I think that at its core, the show has hope. It’s an adventure. It’s a mix of a lot of different genres so I think there’s something for everyone. There’s a little bit of horror, a little bit of comedy, a lot of adventure. And we have this phenomenal cast. And all of those things work in concert and allow us to really dream big. It’s rare to get to do that in network television and I think we’re taking advantage of it.

MORE PHOTOS
Photo Credit for the Following Images: TV Goodness