Audiences finally got to meet Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), along with her friends and family, in last night’s series debut of Supergirl. (Yes, that’s since Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman went off the air.) With shows like “Arrow”, “The Flash”, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”, “Gotham” and the forthcoming “Legends of Tomorrow” dominating the primetime lineup these days, frankly all we can say is, it’s about damn time.
Advertisement
“Glee” star Melissa Benoist beat out many actresses, both unknown and known, to play the coveted role of Superman’s cousin, including reported actresses “Vampire Diaries” star Claire Holt and “Hollyoaks” star Gemma Atkinson. In fact, CBS’s “Supergirl” shines a welcome spotlight on characters who are usually sidekicks to white male heroes, like Kara and Cat Grant.
“You are going to be a role model”, Colbert said to Benoist as she nodded her head. It was cool seeing Helen Slater (formerly Supergirl star) and Dean Cain (former Clark Kent star) as Kara’s adopted parents; it’s just a shame they didn’t get more screen time.
Chyler Leigh, who plays Kara’s adopted sister Alex, also expressed excitement over “Supergirl” especially since she can enjoy it with her young daughters. You’ll see in subsequent episodes, too, that they have a room in the DEO that they can adjust the level of Kryptonite exposure in it to even the playing field, so to speak, for Kara. Still jonesing for more Supergirl scoop? An older, mature, and very handsome James Olsen. Essentially, Supergirl had a tremendous premiere, and a lot of people in the demographic that networks are particularly interested in reaching were watching. He’s her cousin, but it’s her story.
She also wasn’t athletic or sporty. “I saw it when I was working out this morning”, he continued. Visually, this show does feel like a movie with the great special effects and just the tone of the series as a whole.
WATCH BELOW: Melissa Benoist tells ET Canada all about being “Supergirl” in a modern world.
Advertisement
Supergirl premieres tonight on CBS at 8:30/7:30c, continuing on Mondays through November. It turns out that when Kara’s rocket flew towards Earth, it also brought along a Kryptonian maximum security prison full of criminals who are now looking to seek vengeance on Supergirl, as her mom was the one who imprisoned them.
