Nichole Beharie Snags NAACP Image Award Nomination

With all the surrounding drama on social media regarding Sleepy Hollow, one thing that fans do agree on is the incredible performance by our girl Nichole Beharie, who plays Abbie Mills on the historical thriller.  Looks like the NAACP agrees as this morning it was announced she has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama category!

Nichole Beharie plays one of the strongest women on television, Abbie Mills, who learns in season one she is one of the two witnesses prophesied in the Bible, tasked with stopping the coming apocalypse with her partner Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison). While Sleepy Hollow scored praise that initially showed via ratings in its freshman year, the series has seen its share of growing pains with the Sleepyhead fandom not afraid to express their disdain at the direction season two has gone thus far. Through it all, Beharie has been a class act, surprised at the amount of support that fans have thrown her way.

Many within the fandom really felt that Nichole's character Abbie has been sidelined this year in favor of a storyline involving Crane family drama.  Things really came to a head after the airing of "Deliverance", in which some fans felt she was depicted as Ichabod's sidekick.  Fans really became heated when her opinion as one of the Witnesses was disregarded and Ichabod sided with his wife Katrina against her regarding their son Henry (who by the way is the Horseman of War). Then as the episode unfolded, Abbie seemed to be thrust into the background as Ichabod took the reigns and saved Katrina after almost birthing the demon Moloch.  Fans felt she was written as a stereotypical "helper", instead of the fierce, take charge woman previously seen.

For Beharie's part in addressing fan's concerns, during an interview, she had this to say, "Well, I'm highly aware of that just because I'm an actress and I'm African-American, so I'm aware of that kind of thing, those stereotypes."  She went on to say, "I think it's just- we have amazing fans, they're so

passionate and I think they want to see the female characters on the show be developed totally in the way that some shows haven't done, in the way that everyone has expected from a show like this.  One part of me is like "why does it have to be political or weird about who's doing what?" But I just think it's people caring about each character so much, and that's definitely a testament to the other actors
work and the writers and the whole upheaval.  It's really entertaining from this end. It's almost like you guys are entertaining us after we attempt to give you your jollies." She added that whenever an issue arises, it is brought up and "everyone is cool, really understands it."

Ultimately, I feel that Beharie's NAACP Image Nomination is well-deserved and I know Sleepyheads will be rooting for her to bring it home.  She is up against some amazingly talented women in her category, including Gabrielle Union (Being Mary Jane, BET), Kerry Washington (Scandal, ABC), Octavia Spencer (Red Band Society, FOX) and Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder, ABC).  Click here for a full list: NAACP Image Award Nominees

Fans can watch the ceremony for the first time online as it will be live-streamed on the NAACP Image Awards website, February 6, 2015 at 9p/8c in a two-hour special. In addition, there will be a pre-show of red carpet arrivals, live-streamed in a one-hour special beginning at 8p/7c.