There’s a new woman in Ichabod Crane’s life, and she’s played by someone who knows her way around supernatural drama.
True Blood‘s
Janina Gavankar has nabbed the major role of Diana, a Secret Service agent who will work closely with
Sleepy Hollow‘s remaining Witness in the upcoming third season, TVLine has learned.
The new character, on which
TVLine exclusively reported earlier this month, is officially a guest-starring gig, but fills the void left by the departure of series regular Nicole Beharie.
Diana is described as follows:
A single mom and former military officer who’s currently a Special Agent for Homeland Security. She’s got a tough, take-charge personality, punctuated by a wry sense of humor. She also has a softer, more caring side which emerges when she’s with her young daughter. Initially she doesn’t believe in the supernatural, and that creates conflicts with Crane. They also clash because they have different ways of approaching missions: While he’s methodical and research-focused, she’s active and task-oriented, which is reflective of her military training.
She rarely talks about the father of her child — a person she cared for, even though she never saw a life together with him — but she’s fiercely devoted to her daughter and will do anything to protect her, an instinct Crane appreciates. After her partner goes down in the line of duty, she and Crane will find common ground in their shared sense of loss. And the two of them will quickly realize they have another important point of connection — though not one anyone would expect at first.
Gavankar’s joining the cast is part of an overhaul of the struggling Fox series, which is also losing series regulars Lance Gross and Jessica Camacho and switching its setting to Washington, D.C. for Season 3.
In addition to playing shapeshifter Luna on HBO’s vampire series, Gavankar’s TV credits include The L Word, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries and The League. She most recently appeared on The Mysteries of Laura.
Sleepy Hollow is slated to return at midseason.