Supergirl is a superhero action-adventure drama series that aired originally on CBS from October 26, 2015, to April 18, 2016, for its first season, before moving to The CW in October 2016, where it aired its following five seasons until it concluded on November 9, 2021.
Summary[]
Kara Zor-El was sent to Earth from Krypton as a 13-year-old by her parents Zor-El and Alura. Kara was meant to protect her infant cousin Kal-El, but her spacecraft was knocked off course and forced into the Phantom Zone, where it stayed for 24 years. By the time the spacecraft crash landed on Earth, Kal-El had grown up and become Superman. The series begins eleven years later when the now 24-year-old Kara is learning to embrace her powers and has adopted the superheroic alias "Supergirl".
In the first season, having hidden her powers for more than a decade, Kara is forced to reveal her powers, and becomes National City's protector. Kara discovers that hundreds of the criminals her mother prosecuted as a judge are hiding on Earth, including her aunt Astra and Astra's husband Non. She and her adoptive sister, Alex Danvers, discover that their boss, Hank Henshaw, is actually benevolent Green Martian J'onn J'onzz. She is aided by a few close friends and family who guard her secrets, including her cousin's friend, James Olsen, and tech genius Winn Schott, Jr.
In the second season, Kara and her allies deal with feuds between Earth's native populace and extraterrestrial community, and investigate the shadowy organization Project Cadmus, masterminded by Lillian Luthor, mother of Superman's archenemy Lex Luthor. At the same time, Kara becomes friendly with Lillian's stepdaughter Lena Luthor, the new CEO of LuthorCorp, and struggles with romantic feelings for recent Earth arrival Mon-El, a survivor and prince from Krypton's neighboring planet Daxam. James becomes the masked streetfighting vigilante Guardian; Alex begins dating Maggie Sawyer; and J'onn befriends a younger Martian, M'gann, from the White Martian race that killed his people.
Cast[]
- Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl (seasons 1-6)
- Mechad Brooks as James Olsen/Guardian (seasons 1-5)
- Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers (seasons 1-6)
- Jeremy Jordan as Winn Schott/Toyman (seasons 1-3, special guest season 5)
- David Harewood as J'onn J'onnz/Martian Manhunter (seasons 1-6)
- Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant (season 1, special appearance seasons 2-6)
- Chris Wood as Mon-El/Valor (seasons 2-3, guest season 1, special guest season 5)
- Floriana Lima as Maggie Sawyer (season 2, special guest season 3)
- Katie Mcgrath as Lena Luthor (seasons 3-6, recurring season 2)
- Odette Annable as Samatha Arias/Reign (season 3, special guest season 5)
- Jesse Rath as Querl Dox/Brainiac-5 (seasons 4-6, recurring season 3)
- Sam Witwer as Ben Lockwood/Agent Liberty (season 4, special guest season 5)
- Nicole Maines as Nia Nal/Dreamer (seasons 4-6)
- April Parker Jones as Lauren Hayley (season 4)
- Azie Tesfai as Kelly Olsen (seasons 5-6, recurring season 4)
- Andrea Brooks as Eve Tessmacher (season 5, recurring seasons 2-4)
- Julie Gonzalo as Andrea Rojas/Acrata (seasons 5-6)
- Staz Nair as William Dey (seasons 5-6)
- LaMonica Garrett as Mar Novu/The Monitor (season 5, guest season 4)
Series overview[]
| Season | No. of episodes | Originally aired | Time slot | Average ratings | Network | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rating (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) | ||||
| 1 | 20 | October 26, 2015 | April 18, 2016 | Mondays 8/7c | 1.7 | 7.56[1] | CBS |
| 2 | 22 | October 10, 2016 | May 22, 2017 | 0.7 | 2.36[2] | The CW | |
| 3 | 23 | October 9, 2017 | June 18, 2018 | 0.5 | 1.84[3] | ||
| 4 | 22 | October 14, 2018 | May 19, 2019 | Sundays 8/7c | 0.4 | 1.21[4] | |
| 5 | 19 | October 6, 2019 | May 17, 2020 | Sundays 9/8c | 0.2 | 0.84[5] | |
| 6 | 20 | March 30, 2021 | November 9, 2021 | Tuesdays 9/8c | 0.1 | 0.51[6] | |
Production[]
Development[]
By September 2014, Warner Bros. Television was looking to create a television series centered around Supergirl. Executive producers for the series include Greg Berlanti (also a creator/producer for Arrow and The Flash), Ali Adler, who are both writing the script, and Berlanti Productions' Sarah Schechter. DC Comics' Geoff Johns is also expected to be part of the project. Titles under consideration for the series included Super and Girl. Berlanti confirmed the show shortly after, and stated it was in development and had yet to be pitched to networks. On September 20, it was announced that CBS had landed Supergirl with a series commitment, with an expected premiere in 2015 of the 2015–16 television season. In January 2015, CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler revealed the show would be a procedural, saying, "There will be [crime] cases, but what [executive producers] Ali Adler and Greg Berlanti pitched was a real series arc for her. The beauty of it is now with shows like The Good Wife and Madam Secretary, you can have serialized story elements woven into a case of the week. She's a crime solver, so she's going to have to solve a crime."
In January 2015, it was announced by The Hollywood Reporter that Melissa Benoist would star as Supergirl Benoist later revealed that auditioning for the part "was a long, drawn-out, three-month process"; she was the first actress looked at for the role, although Claire Holt and Gemma Atkinson were also considered. In March 2015, Blake Neely, composer for Arrow and The Flash, revealed he would be composing for Supergirl. The show was officially picked up to series on May 6, 2015. It was originally set to premiere in November 2015, before being moved up to October 26, 2015. The pilot episode was screened at San Diego Comic-Con International 2015 on July 8 and 11, 2015. In July 2015, Adler spoke on how much influence Superman would have on the show, saying, "Our prototype is the way the president is seen on Veep. It's certainly [inspired by] so much of what Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character goes through. Ultimately, this is a show about Supergirl and we really want to see it through her lens." On November 30, 2015, CBS ordered an additional seven episodes of Supergirl, for a full season of 20 episodes.
On May 12, 2016, Warner Bros. Television announced that the series had been renewed for a second season of 22 episodes and would move to The CW. The season debuted in October 2016. With the move of the production to Vancouver, it was unclear if Calista Flockhart would remain with the series, as her original contract stipulated that she work near her home in Los Angeles. The CW president Mark Pedowitz said Flockhart wanted to remain with the series and that "We're in ongoing discussions... we're happy to have her in [in whatever capacity] works out." Flockhart ultimately reached a deal to be recurring in the second season, with the production flying her to Vancouver every few weeks to film material.
On January 8, 2017, The CW renewed the series for a third season, which debut on October 9, 2017. The third season saw Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner become the series' executive producers and co-showrunners along with Kreisberg, following Adler's departure; Adler remained an executive consultant for the series. Both Queller and Rovner joined Supergirl midway through the first season as co-executive producer and consulting producer, respectively, with Rovner promoted to executive producer ahead of the second season
Reception[]
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the series premiere a 95% approval rating from critics and with an average rating of 7.6/10 based on 73 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Melissa Benoist shines as Superman's plucky little cousin in Supergirl, a family-friendly comic-book adaptation that ditches cynicism for heart." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the pilot episode a 7/10, praising Melissa Benoist's performance as Kara and the fun take on the Superman mythos.
Rotten Tomatoes gave the premiere of the second season a 100% approval rating from critics and with an average rating of 8.3/10 based on 20 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "The arrival of the more famous cousin in Supergirl does nothing to detract from the show's lead, who continues to deliver strength, action, and relatability." Metacritic assigned a score of 81 out of 100 based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "Universal acclaim".
Gallery[]
_poster.jpg "Supergirl (season 2) poster.jpg (174 KB)")
External links[]
- Supergirl (Arrowverse) on Fandom
- Supergirl on CBS Wikia (Fandom)
- Supergirl on Wikipedia
References[]
- ↑ Season 1 (2015-16) - Ratings - List of Supergirl episodes
- ↑ Season 2 (2016-17) - Ratings - List of Supergirl episodes
- ↑ Season 3 (2017-18) - Ratings - List of Supergirl episodes
- ↑ Season 4 (2018-19) - Ratings - List of Supergirl episodes
- ↑ Season 5 (2019-20) - Ratings - List of Supergirl episodes
- ↑ Season 6 (2021) - Ratings - List of Supergirl episodes