The upcoming “Sleepy Hollow”/”Bones” crossover (not to be confused with the hollow bones syndrome that afflicted Emily Mortimer's character on “30 Rock”) is a throwback to an earlier age in TV, when crossover episodes were common, and not just between two shows with a common producer (which NBC still does with its Chicago fire/cop/hospital series), nor even between two shows that seemed particularly compatible.
Before FOX's day at press tour, we got some more specific details about the event, which will happen on October 29.
Just in time for Halloween, the scientific world of BONES meets the supernatural world of SLEEPY HOLLOW in a crossover event to thrill the living, the dead and everything in between, airing Thursday, Oct. 29. On BONES (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), the grisly discovery of human remains lead Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) on a hunt for clues, during which they encounter Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie), searching for answers of their own. Realizing that they are after the same evidence, they team up to solve the mystery. Then, immediately following on SLEEPY HOLLOW (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the intrigue continues as Ichabod”s old nemesis is back from the dead. Ichabod and Abbie need advanced forensic help and expertise to stop him and turn to Brennan and Booth to unlock 18th century secrets using 21st century science.
“When the idea came about to create this crossover event for fans, our writers” room was immediately energized,” said Clifton Campbell, executive producer and showrunner of SLEEPY HOLLOW. “The creative freedom to merge these two worlds which, at face value, seem so different; but at their core have such striking similarities – mystery, intrigue and methodical deduction, wrapped up in such strong character partnerships – was a challenge that we all welcomed, and we believe that fans of both series will be very satisfied by the result. It was a terrific collaborative experience across the board and we are eager to see the fan reaction to Ichabod and Abbie working alongside Brennan and Booth.”
“The BONES/SLEEPY HOLLOW crossover is like a great episode of THE X-FILES, where the BONES hour is the Scully, logic-based perspective and the SLEEPY HOLLOW hour is more Fox Mulder-esque,” said Michael Peterson, executive producer of BONES. “Put them together, and it”s going to be a great two-hour event that fans of both programs are going to love.”
So if a reality-based crime procedural can have its heroes interact with a time-traveling demon-fighter, what are some other mismatched crossovers between current shows you'd like to see? Since we're just having fun, you don't even have to pick two on the same network. Would you want a “Silicon Valley” where the guys from Pied Piper meet much older versions of the Mutiny team from “Halt and Catch Fire”? What would Daniel from “Rectify” make of “The Leftovers” and its great departure? And why can't Nick from “New Girl” wander through a scene of HBO's upcoming miniseries “Show Me a Hero” just as proof that Jake Johnson and Oscar Isaac are not the same person?