Supergirl is latest rare super heroine to snag TV series

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Melissa Benoist takes on the disttaff side of Superman. Photo: Variety
Melissa Benoist takes on the disttaff side of Superman. Photo: Variety

CBS just landed Supergirl, the network’s first series pick up for the upcoming season.

This is, of course, rather historic, since the last decent female-led superhero show was 1975’s Wonder Woman, starring Lynda Carter. It’s even got a chance of being pretty good, as it’s coming from the same creators of successful DC properties The Flash and Arrow, both over on the CW Network.

The less said the better about Electro Woman and Dyna Girl or the more modern yet still awful Birds of Prey.

Supergirl should show up on the smaller screen in the 2015-2016 television series, according to Variety, and is being positioned as a dramatic series from executive producer Greg Berlanti for Warner Bros. Television.

It stars Melissa Benoist (Glee, Whiplash) as Kara Danvers/Zor-El (Supergirl), Superman’s kryptonian cousin who’s decided to embrace her superhuman powers and become a hero.

Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) will play Kara’s boss, Cat Grant, while Mehcad Brooks (Necessary Roughness) will co-star as fan-favorite Jimmy Olsen. We’ll also get to see Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw, a super villain from the “Death of Superman” series from the 1990s, as well as a couple of familiar faces: Helen Slater, who played Supergirl in the 1984 film of the same name, and Dean Cain, who played Superman in The Adventures of Lois and Clark. Both stunt-castings are secret; no one knows what their roles will be.

Bottom line, it’s fantastic to see a super heroine take the front role in what could be a high-quality TV show from a production team with a solid background in doing DC characters justice on television. Here’s hoping Supergirl will join Wonder Woman as a cultural touchstone to remind us all that girls are pretty kick-ass, too.

Source: Variety

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