Red is back!

The beauty of Once Upon a Time in all of its fairy tale glory happens to be that despite your casting status, most of the characters are used in a recurring capacity. Even big named guest stars have shown up for more than one episode, while recurring roles have lasted throughout a majority of the season. With the second year already in the writing stages, and filming set to commence next month, many can’t wait to see what Storybrooke has in store after their adrenaline-filled cliffhanger finale. Now, it seems the series is ready to hint at who might play major parts in the upcoming story arc as one fan-favorite character has been bumped up to series regular.

Deadline reports that Red Riding Hood herself Meghan Ory has been given a series regular status for the second season ofOnce Upon a Time. What exactly that means for her character remains to be seen, but it only seems like a natural step for the character who appeared in 17 of 22 episodes in the show’s first season. She joins fellow regulars Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Robert Carlyle, Jared Gilmore, and Raphael Sbarge, all of whom will be returning for the sophomore year.

For some time, Ory’s role of Ruby mostly consisted of simply smiling, looking pretty, and casually conversing with the customers of Granny’s Cafe. However halfway through the season, Ory delivered a powerhouse performance in a Red-centric episode that not only further developed both of her characters but truly brought her forward as one of the most loved roles of the series to date.

It’s also said that Ory’s promotion comes as the actress was looking for other potential series to star in earlier this pilot season until it was mentioned the execs of the series would look into bumping up both her status and pay grade. Once Upon a Time has already lost one actor to pilot season as Giancarlo Esposito departs as a leading role in the new J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke series Revolution on NBC.

There was word that one of the most loved guest stars of the first season Sebastian Stan could possibly in talks to return toOnce Upon a Time in a series regular role as well, though reports are strictly rumors for now. Josh Dallas, on the other hand, was forced to forfeit his role as Fandral in Thor 2 due to scheduling conflicts as he returns to Canada to film Once later this summer.

Once Upon a Time currently has a premiere date that is yet to be determined, but the first year will premiere on Blu-Ray and DVD on August 28th.