The screening of the new Fox show “Sleepy Hollow” took up most of the session, but the audience clearly didn’t mind. Producer Alex Kurtzman introduced the show by saying, “We are so excited you are the first full audience to see the show.” After the episode ended and the crowd roared with enthusiasm, I’m sure he was, if anything, more excited.
“Sleepy Hollow” does more than update the Washington Irving story. While the Headless Horseman does appear, more importantly so does Ichabod Crane, woken from a 250 year sleep. He soon crosses paths with police lieutenant Abby Mills (Nicole Beharie). Although they hardly hit things off (as she’s an African-American woman, he can’t understand why she’s wearing trousers and walking free). What could be a wacky procedural turns complex, dark and mysterious. I don’t want to give anything (and there is much to give away), but this fall (the show will air Mondays) look for George Washington, witches and ominous biblical overtones.
After the well-received screening, producers Kurtzman, Phillip Iscove, Roberto Orci and Len Wiseman joined stars Tom Mison (Ichabod Crane), Orlando Jones (Captain Frank Irving) and Nicole Beharie (Abbie Mills) took the stage to answer a few short questions.
When asked if the producers felt a need to stay true to the source material, Orci said, “The original story was only 17 pages, [so we get to show] there was a whole other side to there Revolutionary War, like George Mason was a Freemason and Native Americans showed us a lot about democracy works.”
Wiseman reassured the audience that, “It’s not about trackingg down the headless horseman every week. When we unveil some of the mystery, we find the headless is one of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and by Crane killing him, he became linked to the Headless Horseman.
Mison spoke briefly about his role as the iconic Crane. “You want to be cautious… [but when you] take a character and throw him into a whole other situation, that can’t be anything other than exciting.
Beharie said of her own initially skeptical character, “It’s so bizarre taking it all in from her viewpoint. She’s sitting in the seat you’re sitting in, evaluating. She has a complex and tarnished past and takes that kernel of truth and turns it into something and [she and Crane] become sort of partners.”
While there is some meet cute-ness to their relationship, don’t worry. The show promises a lot of dark mythology to hold your interest.