Hypable sat in on SDCC’s exciting Sleepy Hollow panel. Here’s 13 things we learned about the show’s upcoming second season.
The theme of season 2 is kind of a tease.
The writers kicked off the panel by promising us that the theme of Season 2 is all about redemption, family, and hope within the context of war.
Whatever you think is coming… ISN’T coming.
The Sleepy Hollow writers talked about how, while making the first season, they made sure to keep themselves updated on the audience’s response to each episode. As a whole, they found that what fans always seemed to love most was when their expectations were subverted so they could be truly surprised. They look forward to embracing every opportunity to shock the viewer while creating season 2.
Ichabod is catching up on some television.
Apparently, according to Tom Mison, Ichabod finally watched an episode of Glee. “Did he like it?” the moderator asked. “I doubt it,” Tom drolled… at least until he realized Glee is ALSO a Fox show, at which point he quickly doubled back, “He loved it!”
Abbie and Ichabod have some patching up to do.
Despite their strong connection, Ichabod really betrayed Abbie when he drew the map. This broken trust is something they’re going to have to work through.
There’s a new sheriff in town.
An instant obstacle for Abbie and Ichabod, the new sheriff has a quiet strength to her (as well as a history with Abbie’s mother.) With her in charge, it’s going to be a little tougher for Abbie and Ichabod to pull off their shenanigans.
Katrina and Headless’ relationship is only going to get weirder.
Because Katrina is the only one who can see Headless as her fiancé, Abraham, their relationship does have a Beauty and the Beast undertone to it. Headless loves Katrina, Katia insisted… he just has a funny way of showing it.
Katrina hopes you don’t hate her next season…
Katia said that one of the things she’s most looking forward to next season is the exploration of Ichabod and Katrina’s relationship. They do love each other deeply, and she hopes that viewers will finally get to see why. BUT don’t come at her with a pitchfork just yet: she promises that she won’t get in the middle or jeopardize Ichabod and Abbie’s delightful relationship.
John Noble will be stepping up his evil.
John Noble talked about how now that Jeremy Crane’s had his revenge, he doesn’t need to live for that anymore, and so has become an entirely benevolent servant of evil. A manipulative sneak, he will be planting seeds of doubt all throughout town. But in a twist, John Noble added that we may begin to see him start to take steps towards redemption.
The audience’s clinging attachment to Ichabbie still befuddles the writers and stars.
The writers insisted that Ichabod and Abbie’s relationship was never initially imagined as what fans have catapulted it into. “I’m not TRYING to be romantic,” Tom Mison insisted with a smirk.
Mison went on to discuss why he thinks fans have latched onto the idea of Ichabod and Abbie as a couple; because they are two opposites who HAVE to work together, rather than two people who have chosen to work together, the way they are continuously thrust into very intense, high-stakes situations forces them to communicate with a no-holds barred level of intimacy that is usually reserved for old married couples who trust each other. They bicker not because they’re flirting, but because it gets the job done. And Mison added that that resultant bickering is “what some of you seem to find a little spicy.”
Nicole didn’t seem to be too into the idea of Ichabod and Abbie as a couple at all — at least at the moment. She finds it really refreshing to play a woman on television who doesn’t need to be defined by her relationship with a man. Okay, sure. But no matter how much they deny it, we got to see their crazy chemistry live on stage firsthand. And yes, their live bickering is still spicy.
We will be seeing a LOT of Ben Franklin this year.
Literally. Tom Mison brought up to the writers that he remembered Ben Franklin liked to take a lot of air baths, so congratulations audience, we will be seeing these air baths in action on the show, and Ichabod will be interacting with the famous founding father in the nude. The writers added that this season will feature a lot of fun “twistory” (twisted-history), and Benedict Arnold will even be making an appearance.
Diversity is profitable.
One of the most surprisingly moving parts of the panel was getting to hear so many different audience members thank Sleepy Hollow for its realistically diverse cast on a major network show. The writers were refreshingly honest in talking about about their casting choices: they cast diverse because it makes sense. Diversity is realistic, and therefore, it is profitable.
The writers talked about how the United States has always been a melting pot of different cultures, but that hasn’t always been translated onto the screen in Hollywood. It’s good for business and good for the bottom line to acknowledge every viewer, and with Sleepy Hollow‘s success in the ratings, other networks and studios are finally starting to realize that too. Not only is diversity good financially, but the writers talked about how it makes for better storylines too. By having different ethnicities on the show, the writers’ room has the mythologies of more multicultural backgrounds to draw on to create a richer story.
The cast added in their two-cents as well, saying that what makes Sleepy Hollow special is that it is a show with a diverse cast, but it isn’t a show about diversity. People aren’t typecast into a part; they interact realistically with the mythology.
Someone new in town might, maybe, probably will be causing a little bit of tension.
Matt Barr will be playing a new arms dealer in Sleepy Hollow, and his presence promises to mix things up between Ichabod and Abbie.
‘Sleepy Hollow’ isn’t just another ‘man out of time’ story.
The writers pinpointed why the Sleepy Hollow approach to time travel feels so unique. What keeps the show refreshing and what keeps Ichabod’s 21st-century-discoveries dynamic is that at its core, the writers want to show what the “first American” — someone who fought and died for the ideals of America — would think of what America has become today.
On one hand, Ichabod is very proud of the fact that someone as smart and capable as Abbie now lives in a time where she is judged for her character rather than her race or gender, but on the other hand… he’s frustrated with the way credit cards are ruining society. It’s this callback to a time of idealism that keeps the show and the time travel idea fresh by being both profound and funny. We are forced to see the way we function in modern society through Ichabod’s revolutionary eyes.