'Sleepy Hollow' Season 4 News & Update: The Real Reason For Nicole Beharie's Exit; Nikki Reed Also Leaving?

Fox surprised viewers when it announced the renewal of "Sleepy Hollow" for Season 4 without its lead female character. Nicole Beharie, who plays police officer Abbie Mills, was killed off on the show. Her departure leaves Tom Mison, who plays Ichabod Crane, to carry the show alone. But why did the actress leave and is co-star Nikki Reed also not coming back?

Fox executives dished that killing Abbie Mills was not an easy decision. "There were a variety of factors that led to the end of the season," said Dana Walden, the Fox CEO via TV Line. "We ended up being put in a situation where that was a decision that needed to be made."

Variety reports that Nicole Beharie has been wanting to get out of her "Sleepy Hollow" contract and made agreements with the show's producers early on. During the midseason finale for Season 3, her character was supposedly going to die. However, Fox didn't agree to this plan, hence, her character remained for the rest of the season.

Yet knowing they cannot hold off the actress for long, the network also started searching for a worthy replacement and added more female cast members into the show, such as Nikki Reed and Shannyn Sossamon. However, Nikki Reed, who plays Ichabod's old love Betsy Ross, has opted not to return as a regular for "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 as well, per E! Online.

Her status on the show and the reason for the change of heart was not divulged. It should be noted that the actress was originally meant to appear in some episodes only before Fox decided to promote her as a series regular.

Fox isn't also confirming whether "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 would be its last, but the network has utmost confidence in Tom Mison. "What we know is that Tom Mison is a big star," Walden said. "The Ichabod Crane character has been so central to the series and the storytelling and he feels like an original, big Fox character."