‘The Following’ season 3: Is Natalie Zea’s future now in question?

If there is one thing that we’ve grown very accustomed to when it comes to “The Following,” it is that we never quite know what in the world is going to happen with Natalie Zea. After the first season, there were many questions about whether her Claire was living or dead, and we eventually just got to the point where we assumed that the latter was true. Then, she showed up still alive, surprised us all, and then put herself back into a position where we may never see her again.

Based on what we know now, Claire may actually be staying away for good this time. Per Deadline, Zea has signed on to star in “Members Only,” an upstairs / downstairs drama a la “Downton Abbey” for ABC. The show has already been ordered to series, so there is no need to wonder about if it is going to come on the air. She will play the put-together and privileged character Mickey on the project, who will certainly have it much easier in some ways than any of Zea’s characters on this show, “Justified,” or “Under the Dome.”

As for how this impacts her status officially on “The Following,” it’s feasible that she could do both shows and just turn up occasionally as a guest star. However, we’d say now that it is officially doubtful that she would ever have a huge role on the Fox show so long as there is another job in the picture.

What do you think: Are we going to see more of Natalie on “The Following,” or do you think that it’s ultimately better for her to move on and go somewhere else? Let us know in the comments, and head over here to take a look at some other current scoop out there on Ryan Hardy and company.

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Photo: Fox