Last spring, Lucy Griffiths (“True Blood”) joined NBC’s “Constantine” as Liv, the female lead of the series. But last week, plans shifted and Griffiths left the series.
Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour (via TVLine), the executive producers of “Constantine” announced that Angelica Celaya has been signed as the new female lead of “Constantine.” Celaya will play Zed, a psychic who already has her powers when she first encounters occult investigator John Constantine (Matt Ryan). Zed first appeared in the early issues of Hellblazer, the DC/Vertigo comic book series that inspired “Constantine.”
Celaya is best known for her roles in Latin American television, but she has previously appeared in “Dallas” and “Burn Notice.”
At the “Constantine” TCA panel, executive producer Daniel Cerone said that Zed is “someone who can go toe-to-toe with John. She’s intuitive. She can detect bulls–t.”
Executive producer David Goyer added that Zed also has an ““interesting dark past.”
Related: Lucy Griffiths Leaves NBC’s ‘Constantine’
Potential Spoilers ahead!
The “Constantine” producers acknowledged that one of the pilot scenes will be reshot to deal with Liv’s absence in the series. And it certainly sounds like Liv won’t survive her initial adventure with John Constantine.
“[John’s] friends drop like flies,” related Goyer. “He is this classic noir character who often ends up alone, and we thought it was kind of consistent with the character.”
“Constantine” will premiere on NBC on Friday, October 24.
