Sleepy Hollow was a huge success among fans and critics when it started last year but Season 2 has seen the show come in for some criticism.
Speaking to EW, showrunner Mark Goffman addressed some of the issues that the fans have raised, including the #AbbieMillsDeservesBetter hashtag, as the character has seemingly been sidelined.
“Every show is a living, breathing entity, and it’s growing, and it’s constantly evolving,” he said. “Last season we were 13 episodes; this season we went to 18. So we’re growing. We’ve done some things differently this year; we have new cast; we have tried some different storytelling. We take a lot of really big swings on this show. Some of those work really well—and we’re adjusting and evolving as the season goes.”
Goffman said that the show prides itself on the relationship that it has with its fans and that the outcry has not gone unnoticed. “We look at everything,” he said. “This show, it was really built for fans. So we’re very engaged in the social media atmosphere. Obviously it’s more fun when everybody is telling you that everything’s perfect, but I don’t know if that’s ever the case. We have a plan we put together, a really fun season arc, and when we get to next Monday, things are going to be thrown into flux in a way that I think is really exciting—leading to a whole new trajectory for the back half of the season.”
“I actually love that we have a very honest relationship with our viewers. We cultivated that in Season 1; there’s a real dialogue going on. To us, it’s actually a sign of how much people care, and how passionate they are that they’re so willing to be so vocal about how they feel. And we welcome that kind of feedback and actually engage in that dialogue.”
Regarding the whole “damsels in distress” issue, Goffman said “That was never our intention…We’re trying to give each character on the show their due.”
Have you been watching Sleepy Hollow‘s second season? If you sideline Abbie Mills and you reduce Katrina to a damsel in distress, that is taking away a huge part of what makes the show awesome. It is nice to see that fan criticism is being listened to, let’s hope it makes a difference.
Sleepy Hollow is currently airing on Universal on Wednesday nights at 9pm. Keep up with the latest genre news with the new issue of SciFiNow.
