NYPD Blue Actress Charlotte Ross Joins Arrow Season 3

As we get closer to Arrow‘s third season premiere, more and more actors are joining the cast, which in turn brings more DC Comics characters to the series. Over the last few weeks we’ve seen characters like The Atom (played by former Superman Brandon Routh), a new Count Vertigo (Fargo alum Peter Stormare), Katana (Sin City‘s Devon Aoki) and Wildcat (House of Payne‘s J.R. Ramirez) added to the roster, with season “big bad” Ra’s Al Ghul yet to be cast.

With all the superheroes and villains joining the series, it’s easy to forget that regular, human characters are needed for the show, too. According to TV Guide, one such character has just been cast: Felicty Smoak’s mother, played by NYPD Blue actress Charlotte Ross.

Ross, whose credits also include recent shows Nashville, Hit the Floor, and Glee will appear in at least one episode of the series, beginning in early November. Details on Felicty’s mom, including her name and whether or not she’ll appear in the present day or in a flashback are being carefully and heavily guarded. So, does that mean she’s not playing some run-of-the-mill human character?

We learned last weekend that one of the upcoming episodes, titled “Oracle,” will focus on Felicty’s origins. Comic book readers immediately began speculating that the episode would at least allude to former Batgirl Barbara Gordon, who gets paralyzed by the Joker and takes on the “Oracle” moniker, as she aids Batman and his sidekicks from behind a bunch of computer screens (much like Felicty Smoak in Arrow, which is definitely not a coincidence).

Could Felicity’s mother actually be Barbara Gordon? It’s doubtful, but possible; especially with her character details under lock and key. Here’s what executive producer Marc Guggenheim told TV Guide about Felicity’s origins this season:

“We are absolutely going to get to know [Felicity]. We know that she went to MIT, we know that her mom was a cocktail waitress in Vegas and we’re going to meet that mom. And we also know that her dad is not in the picture.”

It’s not much to go on and certainly doesn’t back up the Oracle fan theories, but hey, you can’t blame a rabid fanbase for getting excited!

We’ll have more details on Felicity’s mother as they become available. Until then, make sure to check out Arrow when its third season premieres on the CW on Wednesday October 8th, 2014.