A Heroes Star Is Heading To The Flash

the flash

Usually, news about The Flash's new cast members breaks long before their characters actually show up, but that's not at all the case today. Next week's episode will introduce a new character played by Heroes vet and J.J. Abrams buddy Greg Grunberg, who should be a fantastic new addition to the complexity-driven drama.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like we'll be getting to see Greg Grunberg's more jovial side, as he'll be joining The Flash as a Central City PD detective by the name of Tom Patterson. With a stoic gruffness, Det. Patterson is extremely attached to his occupational dedication, and he's the kind of guy who will stop at nothing to ensure that his city remains safe from the crisis-causing metahumans always popping up. Thankfully, he won't just be a quick Flash in the pan, as the actor's role will be recurring.

That character description, which comes to us from Mashable, basically sounds like everyone that works for the CCPD. But it really sounds like that other new detective we met this season, Julian Albert, played by that other genre-friendly actor, Tom Felton. Are we going to see Tom and Barry having a similar kind of heart-to-heart soon?

In any case, this is a superb episode for Greg Grunberg to debut in, as "Killer Frost" is the second installment that will be directed by filmmaker and comic fanatic Kevin Smith, who tackled one of last season's more enjoyable efforts. It is also the episode in which Caitlin's Killer Frost abilities will apparently take over, according to the episode synopsis, causing her to lash out against both friends and foes. Tom Patterson better not pick THIS day to try and be a hero cop, because he could get left out in the cold.

Without going into major spoilers, The Flash recently upped its villain game, both with the dream-interrupting Alchemy and that new guy Savitar. And while H.R. is having a time of it with his face-changing tech and his novel ideas, just about everyone else is going through rough times, and only time will tell if Wally comes out of this situation with his mind and body intact. Never a bad time for Central City to get more good guys on Joe's side of things.

greg grunberg heroes

First earning his TV Staple status on Felicity, Greg Grunberg followed that up with extended runs on Alias, the aforementioned Heroes and its follow-up Heroes Reborn, along with a few shorter-lived shows. In recent years on the small screen, he recurred on Masters of Sex and has appeared on episodes of Criminal Minds, Hawaii Five-0, Life in Pieces and more, while his feature career had him showing up in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek Beyond, among other things. It's only natural that he ended up in The CW's DC TV-verse at some point.

The Flash airs Tuesday nights on The CW, and we can expect to find Greg Grunberg showing up next week! Check out our fall premiere schedule and midseason debut schedule to see what other shows are on the way.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.