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TV Shows Draw Inspiration From 'Sleepy Hollow' Tale

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. – Sleepy Hollow is getting some Hollywood buzz — and that has tourism and village officials excited.

Deadline Hollywood reports that two TV pilots based on Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" are in the works.

“When pop culture at large trains its lens on Sleepy Hollow country, it helps raise awareness of the area as a destination, which is certainly a good thing,” Rob Schweitzer, director of public relations for Historic Hudson Valley, said.

Fox has committed to do a pilot for a drama from "Transformers" writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that has Ichabod Crane teaming with Sleepy Hollow's female sheriff to “solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil,” Deadline Hollywood reported.

Another series from the CW and "Missing" writers Patrick Macmanus and Grant Scharbo makes Crane an FBI agent sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a mysterious beheading, Deadline Hollywood reported.

Sleepy Hollow Village Administrator Anthony Giaccio said the village has benefited in the past from entertainments about the Sleepy Hollow legend. 

“We've seen that with other movie examples, like the Johnny Depp movie,” he said, referring to the 1999 feature film "Sleepy Hollow." “So anything that promotes the name Sleepy Hollow is good.”

Schweitzer said he would reserve judgment on any TV show until there was an actual product to see. But, he said, he hopes show creators will celebrate the area's heritage rather than make it up.

“The real appeal of Sleepy Hollow and sites such as Philipsburg Manor, the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are their authenticity,” He said. “The experiences we create at Philipsburg Manor, for example, often draw from the well of popular culture and entertainment, but they are rooted in the actual and literary history of the site, which is what makes them stand out from generic offerings.”

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