‘The Originals’ Casts ‘Farscape’ Actress in Key Recurring Role (Exclusive)

The Originals has found its newest powerful magical foe.

Farscape’s Claudia Black has landed the role of the mysterious (and dangerous) witch Dahlia, the maternal aunt of the Mikaelson siblings, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

In The Originals lore, Dahlia helped her younger sister, Esther (the Mikaelson matriarch) with a fertility spell, but it came with a price — Dahlia wanted the first-born of every generation, and took Esther’s oldest daughter, Freya, as payment. And now that Klaus (Joseph Morgan) has a child of his own — and that Freya (Riley Voelkel) has reunited with her family — baby Hope is in danger

Black — who is set to recur — will first appear in this season’s 16th episode.

The Originals boss Michael Narducci recently hinted to THR that the show would be digging into Freya’s relationship with Dahlia. “If Freya is still alive, that must mean that Dahlia is still out there,” he said. “And what’s the nature of their relationship? All of that is the stuff we want to play going forward.”

Black is represented by Creative Partners Group and SMS Talent.

The Originals airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Twitter: @marisaroffman