CBS Announces Supergirl Time Slot, Releases New Photos
Supergirl has landed the coveted 8 EST/7 CST Monday night timeslot on CBS starting Nov 2015. This is the first time since 1949 that a drama has taken over from the traditional sitcom time period on CBS. Supergirl will be airing against Fox’s Gotham, which might be an issue if the shows were competing for the same audience or live TV viewing was still vital.
Due to airing football in September and October, CBS must shuffle its TV lineup around a bit, so some shows will not debut until November. CBS is one of the only networks to still use the 22 episodes per season model without event programming (Forbes), so expect Supergirl to run longer and with fewer breaks than the other superhero shows. CBS.com is still updating its fall 2015 preview pages, so expect a trailer to follow later today.
CBS has released a new expanded show description (which notably doesn’t name the actors cast for Kara’s adoptive parents, lending further credence to the assumption that they will be played by Helen Slater and Dean Cain):
SUPERGIRL is an action-adventure drama based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), Superman’s (Kal-El) cousin who, after 12 years of keeping her powers a secret on Earth, decides to finally embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be. Twelve-year-old Kara escaped the doomed planet Krypton with her parents’ help at the same time as the infant Kal-El. Protected and raised on Earth by her foster family, the Danvers, Kara grew up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh), and learned to conceal the phenomenal powers she shares with her famous cousin in order to keep her identity a secret.
Years later at 24, Kara lives in National City assisting media mogul and fierce taskmaster Cat Grant (Golden Globe Award winner Calista Flockhart), who just hired the Daily Planet’s former photographer, James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), as her new art director. However, Kara’s days of keeping her talents a secret are over when Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), head of a super-secret agency where her sister also works, enlists her to help them protect the citizens of National City from sinister threats. Though Kara will need to find a way to manage her newfound empowerment with her very human relationships, her heart soars as she takes to the skies as Supergirl to fight crime.
Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Arrow”), Ali Adler, Sarah Schecter and Andrew Kreisberg are executive producers for Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The pilot was directed by Glen Winter (“Arrow”).
Learn more about Kara’s sister Alex Danvers and Hank Henshaw, her boss Cat Grant and coworker James Olson, her mother Alura, and how Superman could appear in the pilot.
CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler confirmed that Superman “will be referenced and he is part of her universe.” She spoke enthusiastically about the series as a “coming-of-age” tale of a 24-year-old woman “who was an underdog. Who was someone coming into her own, embracing her potential. She is a hero you can root for.” “It’s very true to the mythology of Supergirl,” Tassler said. “And because this is a real jewel in the DC [comics] crown, we’ve been given lots of latitude to make some adjustments.” (Salt Lake Tribune)
via Deadline, CBS.com, Variety. Photos via SuperHeroHype.com.