Spy Family Season 3 Casts Kikuko Inoue as Melinda Desmond

The Spy×Family anime has revealed a new cast member for its third season. Kikuko Inoue is joining as Melinda Desmond, the wife of Donovan Desmond and mother of Damian. The character is set to make her anime debut in the series’ 42nd overall episode, airing on November 1.

Season 3 began on October 4 on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, and several other regional stations, with a broadcast on BS TV Tokyo following on October 5. The new season is streaming internationally as it airs, with an English dub version that started on October 18.

Behind the scenes, Yukiko Imai steps up to direct the third season at Wit Studio and CloverWorks, taking over from the directors who led the second season. Joining the creative team are Yuki Takeuchi and Tomomi Sugimoto handling art setting, Keita Watanabe as CG director, and Rina Koguchi as editor. The opening theme is Hi o Mamoru by SPITZ, and the ending theme Actor is performed by Lilas Ikuta.

The Spy×Family anime has been running since April 2022. Season 1 covered two cours across 2022, Season 2 aired in late 2023 for 12 episodes, and the theatrical film SPY×FAMILY Code: White opened in Japan in December 2023. A second stage musical for the franchise is also running from September through December this year. Viz Media publishes the ongoing manga by Tatsuya Endō in English in both digital and print formats.

My take: Kikuko Inoue is a perfect choice for Melinda Desmond. She brings a certain effortless composure to roles like this, and Melinda is one of those characters who becomes more fascinating the more the story reveals about her. This is a casting announcement worth being excited about.