Once Upon a Time has let go of Meghan Ory (Ruby) after the actress was cast as the lead character in the new CBS drama Intelligence.
Sad news for Little Red fans: TV Guide has learned that Once Upon a Time‘s Meghan Ory, who was upped to a series regular this year, will not be returning for season 3.
When Ory was first cast in Intelligence, the new CBS sci-fi drama which also stars Lost alum Josh Holloway, it was believed that she’d be able to continue working on both shows.
However, now it turns out that Once Upon a Time no longer has room for her character.
When she was promoted to a regular character in the hiatus between seasons 1 and 2, it was expected that Ory’s role in the series would become more prominent.
Executive producers Adam Horowitz and Ed Kitsis actually had a big storyline planned for Ruby in season 2, but because Once Upon a Time introduced so many new characters this year, “The storyline [the creators] wanted to do with Ruby ended up not being able to happen because they decided to take the show in a different way,” Ory says.
Therefore, she began looking for work elsewhere, and was cast in Intelligence. Ory will play Riley Neal, whom she describes as a “super smart” agent sent to protect Holloway’s character, “the most expensive weapon ever made.”
“Josh’s character and I like each other, but butt heads,” Ory explains. “His character is married, but there could be some sexual tension. And sort of like it was on Once, there are no damsels in distress. The damsels rescue themselves!”
But don’t lose all hope, because Little Red Riding Hood might still return to Once Upon a Time.
“I still may possibly be doing more episodes,” the actress says. “I think Once is going to go for many seasons, and I would love to guest star maybe once a year just to see what Ruby’s up to.”