TVLine has reported that Michelle Gomez (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Doctor Who) will join the cast of Doom Patrol on HBO Max. The Scottish actress will be playing the villain Madame Rouge who is described as an “eccentric villainess, who arrives at Doom Manor with a very specific mission (if only she could remember it).” Gomez will be a series regular.
Madame Rouge debuted back in 1964 in Doom Patrol #88 created by Arnold Drake and was a member of the Brotherhood of Evil. Before becoming a supervillain, she was Laura De Mille, a French stage actress. She developed a dual good/evil split personality after being injured in a car accident. At first, Madame Rouge was simply a master of disguise. Eventually, she gained the ability to physically alter her appearance and stretch her limbs. Her character’s history includes a romantic link to Doom Patrol head honcho, Dr. Niles “The Chief” Caulder. (Caulder is played on the series by Timothy Dalton.) Madame Rouge appeared on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans series along with other members of the Brotherhood of Evil.
Michelle Gomez began rising to prominence in genre TV with her 2014 arrival on Doctor Who as Missy. Missy, of course, was a new regeneration of the Doctor’s long-time nemesis, The Master. From there she starred on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and recently starred on HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant. She also voiced Matilda, Scrooge McDuck’s sister on DuckTales.
While Gomez may have left the Doctor Who television series behind her, she has not completely let Missy go. The actress continues to play the part for Big Finish Productions. They have produced 2 series starring her incarnation of the renegade Time Lord to date. She recently joined other living actors who played the Master in a special for the character’s recent 50th Anniversary, Masterful.
Doom Patrol began on the late lamented DCUniverse service. Its second season aired on both HBO Max and DCUniverse simultaneously. The upcoming third season will be exclusive to HBO Max. Filming for Season 3 began this past January. HBO Max has not announced when Season 3 can be expected to arrive on the platform.
