As The Flash is obligated by writers room dictates to have its geeky hero pine after his best friend for at least a season, The Hollywood Reporter announces that The CW is introducing another love interest for the title character, perhaps to celebrate the show’s full-season pickup. Malese Jow will join the cast in a recurring role as Linda Park, reporter for Central City Picture News and mainstay of the DC Comics source material.
Jow’s journalist character is described as “quick-witted” (we get it, The Flash, jeez), someone who befriends Barry’s current object of unrequited love, Iris, and helps her “navigate the fast-paced world of journalism.” Barry and Linda will apparently meet in a bar and hit it off, though it’s unknown at present how long the show is planning to keep her around.
Jow, part of the CW’s starting-team roster, is coming off recent stints on both The Vampire Diaries and last season’s fleeting Star-Crossed. And with Linda Park’s arrival, the show’s bench of soon-to-debut characters from the comics gets even deeper: Upcoming DC notables include Robbie Amell’s Firestorm, Kelly Frye’s Plastique, Clancy Brown’s The General, and Robert Knepper’s The Clock King. Prison Break fans have a double dose of guest casting good news, with Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell both signed up (to appear as Captain Cold and Heat Wave, respectively). Jow will make her first appearance in episode 12.