‘Sleepy Hollow’ season 3 spoilers: Showrunner Mark Goffman out

While “Sleepy Hollow” has not been officially renewed for a third season, Fox made one thing at least relatively clear today: They want to potentially see some creative changes in the event that they bring the show back.

Sources confirm that Mark Goffman, who was one of the main creative forces behind both the first and second seasons of the series, is departing. There is no immediate reason given for his exit, but we imagine here that the proof is in the pudding. Season 2 was widely criticized by many fans, who complained about the emphasizing of Katrina as a character and also some of the Crane family drama in general. In addition, the show lost a substantial chunk of its ratings after a pretty excellent first season. The search will most likely begin now for his replacement.

Let’s be clear here that it is wrong to completely blame one person for the decline in quality for “Sleepy Hollow.” There are always many cooks in the kitchen, but to use an athletic analogy, the coach is the first person to be fired in the event things go south.

The big takeaway from this right now is that a season 3 renewal could come in part down to an idea. Fox may want to ensure that someone is hired with a great plan for the show before deciding to bring the show back. Otherwise, it may not be worth the risk to shell out space on the lineup for a show that is already on the decline.

We will probably know at least some of the decisions on this subject come May, when the major networks decide to have their sweeps.

For now, share your reactions to this news with a comment, and head over here to score some other TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)