Having established herself as director of drama development at the Fox Broadcast Company, one Ohio University alumna has found great success with Fox’s latest drama hit Sleepy Hollow.
Brianna Bennett, a 2004 Honors Tutorial College graduate of OU with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, has found success by taking on the creative development of the new series.
In its premiere two weeks ago, the show was able to gather 10 million views, which, at the time, were the best ratings for a pilot since 2009’s V. The show has not slowed down, as it has become the station’s most popular new show and is rapidly gathering a cult following as the new episodes start to air.
“We absolutely love the show over here at Fox, and we’re so glad it’s getting such a great response from the fans,” Bennett said. “The chemistry between our two leads is amazing, and the stories they’re planning on telling in the series are incredibly cool — I can’t wait for everyone to see where it goes from here.”
As a development executive, Bennett works on all aspects of the show, which includes the cast, the script, shooting the pilot and deciding where it goes as a series. Before working on Sleepy Hollow, Bennett also worked on last year’s The Followingalsoas a development executive.
“We bought the Sleepy Hollow pitch last fall, and this entire past year we’ve worked with the writers, producers and the studio to develop the script into the pilot episode that just recently aired,” said Bennett.
In addition to this show, Bennett is also currently working on the new upcoming shows Almost Human, which premieres Nov. 4 and Gang Related, which is set to air sometime in the spring.
David Thomas, former director of the school of music when Bennett was enrolled and current professor of film, knew that Bennett was special after seeing her thesis I Fell Asleep in Citizen Kane.
“Brianna was one of the greatest students I got to interview for the campus,” said Thomas. “What I saw in her was a fantastic spark, a terrifically smart girl and a great sense of humor.”
In addition to Thomas, Bennett was also able to develop a strong working relationship with several members at the University including Jan Hodson, assistant dean of HTC.
"She was hard-working and a dedicated student who was determined to succeed in her career," Hodson said.
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