‘Sleepy Hollow’ season 1 spoilers: ‘Fringe’s’ John Noble stays in the Fox family

Let’s face it: “Sleepy Hollow” is having itself one heck of a week. Earlier, this series became not only the first new fall show to premiere on a broadcast network, but it was both a commercial and critical surprise. It’s not going to make you think in the same exact way as a “Breaking Bad,” but it’s fun. Sometimes, you really cannot ask for anything more than that on a network that has brought us such sludge as “The Mob Doctor,” and even this season, “Dads.”

According to Deadline, John Noble, who of course stunned audiences for five seasons in the Emmy-snubbed role of Walter Bishop on “Fringe,” is set to recur here as Henry Parrish. He is a fairly-reclusive man who still possesses some sort of power that could help Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) to solve some of the current mysteries that are haunting a certain New England community.

Any show that snags Noble has to feel pretty good about itself, given that he is at the point now where he can be choosy about his parts, since he is in demand. He has already signed up for some more work on “The Good Wife” following his appearance on the show last year, and there’s always a possibility that he could emerge from pilot season this coming spring with a part in a new show.

“Sleepy Hollow” will face its greatest challenge (even more so than the Headless Horseman on Monday, when it has to go up against another villain known as Blake Shelton on “The Voice.”) NBC’s ratings juggernaut has been known to crush many a show, though “The Following” lived to tell the tale last spring, and “Sleepy Hollow” got off to an even better start in the ratings.

Click here if you want to watch a preview for Monday’s episode, which will hopefully extend some of the mythology.

Photo: Fox