"Sleepy Hollow" will no longer be back for a fifth season, as Fox officially has cancelled the supernatural drama.
After undergoing a major cast reset, Deadline reports that Fox will no longer pick up the series for another run. The program's ratings have been on the decline since its huge success in season 1, so word of its cancellation is not much of a surprise.
Rumors of the show's cancellation began surfacing when Fox ordered a shorter run of 13 episodes for season 4, as opposed to the usual 18-episode order. The drama concluded its lowest-rated season yet in March — averaging a 0.5 rating in the 18–49 demo and 1.9 million viewers in total. The numbers have slipped to 40 percent in the demo and 37 percent in viewers compared to season 3.
Throughout its run, the program also went through significant changes both in front and behind the camera. Prior to season 3, Clifton Campbell stepped in to replace Mark Goffman as showrunner. After the third season, lead actress Nicole Beharie surprised fans when she decided to leave the show. Although many critics had praised Beharie's on-screen chemistry with her co-star Tom Mison, her exit posed a new creative direction for season 4.
"Bringing a show out on Friday night is tough," Fox Chairman Gary Newman acknowledged in January. Despite the program's struggles when it comes to ratings, Newman stressed that the network "loves" the series. ". . . We think the storytelling has always been incredibly inventive, and Ichabod is fantastic," he added.
Reports note that the network's move puts the final touches on its 2017–2018 season lineup just a few days before presenting it to advertisers in New York. Departures of scripted shows such as "Rosewood" and "Sleepy Hollow" gives the network's primetime schedule more room for rookie dramas including "The Gifted," a new Marvel drama announced by Fox earlier this week.
