‘The Flash’: Jessica Parker Kennedy Promoted To Series Regular For Season 5

Fans will see more of Barry and Iris’ daughter from the future in Season 5 of “The Flash.”

Jessica Parker Kennedy, who recurred as Nora Allen in Season 4, has been promoted to series regular for the next season of the CW show, TVLine reported.

Kennedy made her debut appearance as Nora during last year’s “Crisis on Earth-X.” In the first hour of the four-part Arrowverse crossover event, Kennedy’s then-mystery character covertly approached groom-to-be Barry (Grant Gustin) at his and Iris’ (Candice Patton) ill-fated church wedding. She then reappeared sporadically throughout the season, until she outed herself as Barry and Iris’ daughter at the end of the Season 4 finale.

In an interview with TV Guide last month, executive producer Todd Helbing said that Nora’s arrival will test Barry and Iris’ relationship in new ways.

“I think we’re going to play with a lot of the real emotions when you have a child and how that changes your relationship, when you're parents,” Helbing said. “My wife and I have gone through this with our two boys, there’s parent you and then there’s you you. There will be parent Barry and parent Iris and then Barry and Iris. Also, the different philosophies of being a parent. When you’re on the same page and when you’re not on the same page and when you figure out that you need to be on the same page to be effective. It’s going to be compounded, this issue, because they’re now parents to an adult. So they didn’t get that learning curve that most parents get.”

Fortunately for Barry and Iris, they have someone like Joe (Jesse L. Martin) who can help them learn the ropes of being a parent.

“It’s funny because Joe has raised two kids, and then he was the father of Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) when he discovered he had a son. He keeps becoming a parent in new ways,” Helbing told TV Guide. “Some of his experiences with Wally, meeting Wally as an adult and how you can step into that role, is certainly going to influence Barry and Iris, but Joe’s going to be dealing with his own version of it at the same time. They’re going to be on two literally different timelines. I think we’ll get a lot of the Joe-Barry, Joe-Iris, ‘Joe Dad Speeches’ as we call them.”

In addition to the challenges that come with being a first-time parent, Barry will also have a hard time deciding what he would like to know from Nora about the future. “[Barry] has to decide what information he wants to get from [Nora] and what he doesn’t, because he knows the ramifications of knowing that stuff too soon,” Helbing told TV Insider.

Kennedy made her first foray into the DC Comics universe when she appeared as Bette Sans Souci, aka Plastique, in a 2008 episode of the CW’s “Smallville.” The Canadian actress is also known for her roles as Max on Starz’s “Black Sails,” Maya on USA Network’s “Colony,” and CW’s “The Secret Circle.”

“The Flash” Season 5 is expected to premiere in October on The CW.