Supergirl (CW)

The new Supergirl has been cast: 26-year-old Melissa Benoist. I'm unfamiliar with her. She was on season 4 and the early part of season 5 of "Glee", and she was in a movie called "Whiplash". A relative unknown.

But Whiplash scored good marks so perhaps some of that can be attributed to her.
Let's wait and see.

Mark Moore said:

The new Supergirl has been cast: 26-year-old Melissa Benoist. I'm unfamiliar with her. She was on season 4 and the early part of season 5 of "Glee", and she was in a movie called "Whiplash". A relative unknown.

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Ah, but relative to whom? Stephen Amell wasn't exactly a big star before Arrow, though he'd recurred on some major shows. Benoist has logged a lot more Glee time than Grant Gustin, who, unlike her, was never a main cast member. And who'd heard of Tom Welling? The dude playing Jim Gordon? Or Constantine? Established stars sometimes headline shows, sure, but I don't think there's any precedent for one headlining a comic-book show. (Gregg/Coulson and Atwell/Carter not counting, as their character started in movies.) Not meaning to be aggro, just providing some perspective.

Anyhow, she's quite the zero percent badass on Glee. I'd say that I wouldn't have pegged her for Supergirl, but then I don't even know the comics character, let alone the show's conception, so judging her casting now would be silly. I am, however, still highly skeptical that this show will work at all...

"Supergirl" is officially picked up:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/supergirl-ordered-series-at-cbs-793201

This looks really, really GOOD!!!!

Well, first off, it has to be said that "Hope starts with an 'H', stupid!"

... I dunno. It looks competent and not-bad, sure, but also maybe quite bland, and why in heck wouldn't Clark give her the blanket himself?! (I know, I know, character usage permission issues.) My gut fear is that CBS doesn't want it to dip its toe into the weirdness that makes The Flash more than just a sitcom. We'll see, I guess? I mean, yeah, I'll probably give it a shot, not like I have much better to do these days...

Mrs. Heb and I like The Flash and Arrow a lot, and we're willing to give it a shot, but based on this teaser, we have potentially serious issues. I imagined the basic pitch as "It's The Devil Wears Prada, but she flies!" Not exactly what I was picturing/hoping for. And Mrs. Heb described the character of Zara as "a gigglehead." We both hope we're wrong, but not feeling it right now.

Reminds me of this:

...which is not a good thing.

^ That's... kinda eerily on-point. :shock:

wow, this show really plays up the "severely insecure god-like alien" theme.

don't think i can watch it.

This trailer is so adorable! I'm really looking forward to this series now (well, moreso than before, which was a lot).

A second trailer and a behind-the-scenes video surfaced today:

http://supergirl.tv/2nd-trailer-behind-the-scenes

I almost vomited watching the trailer.

Make mine Marvel!

What really grinds my gears is that if this show fails it'll be assumed that it's because it's a female lead superhero show and not because the concept, whether you like it or not, didn't work.

I personally am mixed on the trailer/first look and don't see it lasting very long. I also feel that if you are going to do a Supergirl show, you should have Superman in it and not in a way where it's a body double or his face is blurred out. There are plenty of female superheroes that could be utilized to get a female superhero show to work, but it looks too much Ally McBeal/Felicity and not enough Flash or SHIELD. This show probably should've been put on MTV or even CW just because it'll have a better chance at winning over that target demo as opposed to the NCIS crowd at CBS.

A girl who feels she is special and wants to become who she was meant to be. That sounds perfect for younger girls who are struggling to find themselves and probably could be a great show to watch with your teenaged daughter. With no kids, especially a daughter, I don't fit that category at this point in my life. I'll give it a shot of course, but I have very low expectations and not from it being a female superhero. I would love to see Supergirl in the Arrow-verse and see their Justice League come together.

I have never been one to watch or read stuff that's geared toward my "demo". "Supergirl" was my very first comic book. I grew up watching "Jem" instead of TF or Joe. I'm really into "Sailor Moon". I got the 1984 "Supergirl" movie on DVD before I watched the Superman films. I still watch S.H.I.E.L.D., but I've fallen off the other superhero series on TV right now. "Supergirl" looks almost exactly like what I'm looking for.

Mark Moore said:

"Supergirl" looks almost exactly like what I'm looking for.

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Hopefully you'll enjoy it!

I, too do not always watch things in my target demo. What I meant by that I'll give you an example of. There was a great show on the WB called Just Legal starring Don Johnson and Jay Baruchel. Great series with lots of potential! WB canceled it after 3 episodes because the target demo they wanted was the teens to late 20's, not what they ended up getting which was mostly people 30's and up. CBS isn't exactly the channel most kids I talk to (as a middle school teacher) tune into to watch anything. Maybe Supergirl will bring them over there, but I'm basing my demo comments on how that's all that matters to some networks. The ratings I believe were pretty good on that Don Johnson show, but their target demo wasn't hit so they scrapped it.

I like what they've showed of Melissa Benoist's performance and the costume. Other than that, I'm not sure what to think. Cat Grant looks horribly annoying (granted, that's on purpose, but it could still be a problem if she gets too much screentime). I'm not entirely sold on the tone. I like that it appears to be going for a fairly lighthearted approach, but it seems to have some "The Devil Wears Prada"-style elements (as previously mentioned by another member in this thread), which doesn't make me too optimistic.

Okay, I watched the whole trailer and I'm still not convinced. It seems more of a romcom with some superhero tacked on. The jokes fell pretty flat and it looks like prada with the mean boss.

My main beef is that she looks too dumb or she's trying hard to be dumb which is annoying. She's an alien damnit! She's not supposed to be so relatable!
Also as someone mentioned, superman should've given the blanket, if just looks cheap if he's always in the shadows or barely mentioned.

I have a relative who worked on Supergirl project for a bit.
Whenever I inquired about what they thought of the concept or execution, they have always been very noncommittal.
Probably goes with working in that sphere.

bionicbob said:

This looks really, really GOOD!!!!

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Really Bob? I think it looks absolutely awful. All the office stuff plays to me like Ugly Betty, or Sex in the City type, woeful shows. The heroic stuff ain't really impressing me either. Things we've seen before in other incarnations, but now it's different because it's a girl doing it.

booshman said:

Really Bob? I think it looks absolutely awful. All the office stuff plays to me like Ugly Betty, or Sex in the City type, woeful shows. The heroic stuff ain't really impressing me either. Things we've seen before in other incarnations, but now it's different because it's a girl doing it.

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While I realize a trailer can be very misrepresentational of the final product, and a show can change significantly between Pilot and Series, what I watched in those 6 minutes I found to be light, fun and entertaining.

The basic key elements of the Superman Family mythos seem to there. Benoist's performance as Kara evoked a charming Chris Reeve-esque feeling with her geeky, awkward, mild mannered but very likeable performance. I like the "lonely alien/coming of age/discovering your destiny" feel. I saw nothing in that 6 minutes that was not positive and uplifting. And as a father of a girl turning 15 this week ( who btw LOVED the trailer and has sent it to all her friends and watched repeatedly....lol), I found the material very relatable.

Does it have a RomCom feel to it? Sure it does, but what is wrong with that? LOIS & CLARK was an undeniable romcom and it was very entertaining/successful its first few seasons. Greatest American Hero was a comedy and yet delivered some great superhero drama. Heck, Wonder Woman was a comedy but was highly cheesy entertaining.

Sure, the pilot is loaded with themes we have seen many time before but most superhero origins follow a similar formula. It's once you get past the origin that usually determines if the show/character will succeed. And from what I saw, I think it has lots of potential with the Hero's Journey formula. And I think, if it is well written, it will be refreshing and important, to see these experiences through the eyes of a girl.

Also, this show is by the producers of Arrow and Flash, and they have proven (especially with Flash) that they know and respect superhero source material. Though I agree, CBS is the wrong network to be airing such a show. I am in my 40s, and even I barely watch CBS...lol. So on that fact, I don't know if the show can fully succeed there? But maybe CBS will cancel it and CW will pick it up, and then it can be part of their DC TV Shared Universe?

But as I said before, based on these 6 minutes, I see lots of fun potential and I remain hopeful \S/ ;-)