FOX’s “The Following” has picked up another free agent for Season 2. Connie Nielsen, best known for her roles as Meridith Kane in “Boss” and Princess Lucilla in “Gladiator”, will be coming to the cast, according to TVLine.com.
This news comes just a few days after it was reported “Dexter” actor Sam Underwood would be coming to the show.
Nielsen’s character, Lily Gray, is an art dealer out of Soho who may be romantically involved with Ryan Hardy. (If this does happen, let’s hope she doesn’t get slashed in the throat like Claire.)
In addition to her roles on “Boss” and the “Gladiator, Nielsen also appeared in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Brothers,” “Lost in Africa” and “Perfect Sense” in addition to other roles.
So what about Claire, played by Natalie Zea?
In a Comic-Con interview between TVLine founder Michael Ausiello and—Kevin Bacon (Ryan Hardy), Show creator Kevin Williamson, Shawn Ashmore (Mike Weston), James Purefoy (Joe Carrol) and Valorie Curry (Emma Hill.) we find out from Williamson that Claire’s fate will be revealed in the first episode.
The addition of Nielsen could mean one of the two things—1. The slash to the throat killed Claire. 2. Claire has a miraculous recovery, and then she and Kevin just don’t work out (which, from what we know about Kevin, is definitely a possibility.) Whatever the case may be, it seems Zea is no longer returning to the show.
We have a few storylines to look forward to once as we head into Season 2. First of all, how will Hardy’s life be post Joe Carroll—although James Purefoy is returning for the second season so Carroll will definitely be returning in some form. It will also be interesting to see how the lives of Mike and Emma take a turn following pretty traumatic experiences (or a string of experiences) during Season 1.
During the show’s Comic-Con panel, Williamson also explained the show will not be centered on “the chase” and will be less FBI focused. That should give the show the opportunity to be more flexible and expand past last season’s fairly narrow storyline.
