The upcoming fall television season is nothing if not a continuing show of dominance for DC’s emerging TV empire. With FOX’s Gotham and the CW’s Arrow and The Flash returning to their respective lineups, DC already has a good portion of network audiences in their pockets. Far from being content with their successes thus far, DC expands their reach when CBS debuts Supergirl this October.
Melissa Benoist (Whiplash) hits the small screen as Kara Danvers a.k.a. Kara Zor-El a.k.a. Supergirl when the series makes its debut. Joining her is Mehcad Brooks (True Blood) as James “Jimmy” Olsen, David Harewood (Homeland), Golden Globe winner Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) as Olsen and Danvers’ boss, Cat Grant, and Jenna Dewan Tatum (Witches of East End) as Lucy Lane, Lois Lane’s sister.
The show’s already impressive roster got even better today when IGN reported the addition of X-Men: First Class and Transformers actor Glenn Morshower to the cast as General Sam Lane, Lucy and Lois’ father. According to IGN, General Lane is a powerful military figure with an equally powerful protective streak as a father. The general is said to arrive in National City in order to enlist Supergirl in a new and potentially dangerous government program, even as new dangers like Red Tornado (Iddo Goldberg) continue to spring up on the superhero TV series.
Morshower is no stranger to portraying military career men. His resume is littered with roles as tough, high ranking officials, most recently as General Jacobs in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Commander Velan in After Earth, and Colonel Hendry in X-Men: First Class. With this kind of comic book and sci-fi pedigree, Morshower certainly brings a lot to the table as General Lane, and will easily inhabit the role with his previous experience.
The addition of Supergirl to the CBS lineup is a bold choice for the network, which hopes to capitalize on the success of Arrow and The Flash in order to draw in a younger crowd. Though Kara Zor-El hasn’t had as much luck with live action adaptations as her cousin Kal-El, the atmosphere is certainly ripe for a new take on the character, and this may prove to be a gamble worth taking.
Lessening the risks involved considerably is the fact that Supergirl shares much of its producer staff with both Arrow and The Flash. Sarah Schechter, Greg Berlanti, and Andrew Kreisberg have all proven their ability to bring larger than life characters to living rooms across the country, so this new series ought to likewise remain true to the spirit of its comic book counterpart.
Only time will tell of CBS’ Supergirl gambit will pay off as much as the network is hoping, but things are looking good for the National City super heroine – and it will be a much needed breath of fresh air for a genre packed with musclebound men. For more on how the show gets started, you should read through our Supergirl pilot review (from the show’s San Diego Comic-Con 2015 showing).
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Supergirl will premiere Monday, October 26 at 8:30 pm EST. It is set to air at 8 pm EST on Monday night thereafter.
