Sleepy Hollow season 4 renewal news: Showrunner speaks out on Abbie's shocking death

Sleepy Hollow season 3 finale concluded with the death of its lead character Abbie Mills. In this Friday's episode, Abbie (Nicole Beharie) sacrificed herself to stop the Hidden One (Peter Mensah) from destroying the world.

In the closing moments of the episode, Abbie appeared to Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) in a limbo state and melted fans heart with a tearful goodbye. She urged Crane to move on and continue his fight against the apocalypse with the next Witness in line.

Showrunner Clifton Campbell spoke to Entertainment Weekly about Abbie's tragic end and the show's renewal chances for season 4. Campbell said: "Well, we don't like to look at it as killing off Abbie. The show for three seasons has been absolutely magic thanks to Nicole Beharie and her commitment to this character; she's really planted a flag in Sleepy Hollow for all of us. Her relationship with Tom and obviously with Crane has been instrumental to the development of the show. "

"As with a lot of genre shows, as television matures and evolves, it becomes important to recognize the frailty of characters, particularly in a world such as ours, and unrealistic to think that shows can live and breathe on one note. So it was with a great deal of thought and really going back to the roots of the show and the mythology of the show — it too has to evolve. To that end, Abbie Mills did everything she could as a Witness. She honorably served her partnership with Crane, and she made the ultimate sacrifice and completed her role as a Witness."

When asked about the show's renewal chances, Campbell said there has been "positive discussions" about season 4. He said: "We feel like we've got some story to be told yet, certainly, with Ichabod Crane and the modern world. We have a wide open field, and there's been a lot of talk already. There have been a lot of positive season 4 creative discussions."

"First and foremost, we need to figure out where that new Witness is, who that new Witness is, and what that iteration of the show will look like. We're all actually very excited about that possibility — very sad obviously to put the Abbie Mills version of this to bed, but Nicole has been an absolute dream to work with. She brought it every day, in every scene, and she and Tom gave us 110 percent always, and we look forward to what Tom's new partner might give us," he added.

Who do you think will replace Abbie as the new Witness? Do you think the show will get renewed for season 4? Let us know your opinions in the comment section below.