‘Sleepy Hollow’ season 4 adds Rachel Melvin, Jerry MacKinnon and Oona Yaffe
The shake-up on Fox’s supernatural drama, Sleepy Hollow, as the cast around Tom Mison’s Ichabod Crane continues to change. News now has Rachel Melvin, Jerry MacKinnon and Oona Yaffe all joining the show after the exit of many of the mainstays.
MacKinnon will play Jake Wells, an endearingly eager but slightly obsessive research analyst who works in a forgotten federal archive cataloguing reports of supernatural activity. Even though he’s been relegated to the fringes, Jake enjoys what he does since he’s had a lifelong fascination with unexplained phenomena and weird fringe theories. But his interests have always left him somewhat isolated, which is why meeting Crane changes Jake’s life. For one thing, Crane proves to him that all the weird and wacky stuff he’s been documenting is actually true. But just as importantly, Crane becomes both a mentor figure for Jake as well as a much-needed friend.
Melvin will play Alex Norwood, a self-taught engineering prodigy who works alongside Jake in the supernatural archives. Whereas Jake handles information and news, Alex is all about artifacts and machines. She has the ability to break down the most complex problems to its simplest components, a talent that gives her the ability to improvise weapons and gadgets when needed. Never formally educated, she gained her skills through real-world experiences. Her direct and bracingly candid attitude seems designed to keep people at arm’s length. But once she trusts you and lets you into her inner circle, she’s loyal to a fault. Melvin is repped by APA, Authentic and McKuin, Frankel, Whitehead.
Yaffe is Molly, Diana’s (Janina Gavankar) bright and poised ten-year-old daughter. Molly is creative (she’s got a talent for art) as well as athletic (she’s a standout in soccer), and she has a maturity beyond her years. Part of that comes from her mom, who’s always taught her to be strong and independent, and part of it comes from having grown up as the child of a single parent. She’s often been in situations where she’s had to fend for herself. But none of that has dampened her natural curiosity about the world; she sees herself as an explorer at heart—an instinct that quickly bonds her with Crane.
Melvin can be seen on the final season of Awkward and recently appeared in the feature film, Dumb And Dumber To, opposite Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels. Melvin began her career on the long-running soap Days Of Our Lives, which earned her two Daytime Emmy nominations.
MacKinnon recently appeared in a recurring role on Fox’s Empire, as well as in guest starring roles on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and Chicago Fire.
Yaffe is best known as a stand-out competitor on Season 2 of Fox’s Masterchef Junior.
