10 Totally Unnecessary Deaths In Horror TV Shows
9. Abbie Mills - Sleepy Hollow
Hailed for showcasing a Black female lead on a network TV show, Fox's runaway horror hit Sleepy Hollow starred Nicole Beharie as Abbie Mills, a cop who becomes the partner of Ichabod Crane's resurrected supernatural hunter.
Abbie was initially an integral part of Sleepy Hollow's cast. However, the quality of the show's writing dropped and the diverse cast began to be misused, frustrating fans, who left in droves.
By the end of season three, Sleepy Hollow was a shadow of its former self - and then the writers chose to have Abbie sacrifice herself in the season finale to stop the villain.
In the absence of that central partnership between Ichabod and Abbie, the show went through a soft reboot with a new supporting cast and a new setting. It wasn't enough to save it, and Sleepy Hollow was cancelled after a shortened fourth season.
Beharie later explained that she had to leave the show due to her unequal and at times unjust treatment by the show's producers. She explained that she had fallen seriously ill during production but, despite her doctor's recommendations, was forced to continue working. Beharie believed that the way she was treated stemmed from her race, as other member's of the show's initially diverse cast had also been treated poorly.
Had Sleepy Hollow not done its leading lady so dirty, it might well have retained its stellar audience and remained on the air - attracting further critical acclaim - for some time.