Supergirl (TV series)

Kara Zor-El was sent to Earth from Krypton as a thirteen 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 sent 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 twelve years later when Kara is learning to embrace her own superhuman powers as a Kryptonian and has adopted the superheroine alias "Supergirl".[1]

In the first season, Kara is forced to reveal her powers, and she becomes National City's protector.[2] In the process, she discovers that hundreds of the criminals her mother imprisoned are hiding on Earth, including her aunt Astra and her husband Non. Kara works with her adoptive sister Alex Danvers to fight these criminals, alongside the Green Martian J'onn J'onzz, her cousin's friend James Olsen, and tech genius Winn Schott.

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 Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, Kara befriends Lillian's adoptive daughter, Lena Luthor, the new CEO of LuthorCorp, and struggles with romantic feelings for recent Earth arrival Mon-El, a princely survivor from Krypton's neighboring planet Daxam, whose parents wish to reclaim him. James becomes the masked 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.

In the third season, Kara struggles with the loss of Mon-El after he is forced to leave Earth. When Mon-El returns, he reveals that he has time-traveled to the 31st century and founded the Legion, as well as married Imra Ardeen. J'onn discovers his father M'yrnn J'onzz is alive and Alex deals with her heartbreak after breaking up with Maggie. Kara and Alex's new friend, Samantha Arias, discovers she is also a Kryptonian survivor, and begins a transformation from a loving single mother into the world-killing weapon known as Reign.

In the fourth season, Kara deals with a new wave of anti-extraterrestrial prejudice secretly instigated by Lex Luthor from prison, forcing her to fight for the civil and political rights of aliens. Ben Lockwood, a former college professor who suffered a series of personal tragedies at the hands of aliens, forms a human-first group called the Children of Liberty to end all aliens. Meanwhile, in the nation of Kasnia, a clone of Kara dubbed "Red Daughter" is trained by its military to fight Supergirl at Lex's request. Kara and Alex clash with the DEO's new addition, Col. Lauren Haley, who was sent to monitor the DEO's progress under Alex's direction. Col. Haley and the President try to force Supergirl to reveal her identity, and causing the feud to escalate when she refuses.

In the fifth season, CatCo. gets a new editor-in-chief named Andrea Rojas. Kara and her friends find themselves facing a new threat known as Leviathan. Following a multiverse-destroying Crisis, Kara adjusts to her new life on the newly created "Earth-Prime", while being forced to work under Lex as Leviathan continues their covert operations under Gamemnae.

In the sixth and final season, Lex attempts to finish what the Anti-Monitor started after he failed in conquering the multiverse. He successfully imprisons Kara in the Phantom Zone as her friends figure out a way to bring her back out while Kara discovers her father is in the Phantom Zone. After their rescue, Supergirl's group must contend with the 5th Dimension Imp Nyxlygsptlnz who also escaped the Phantom Zone and is seeking the different Totems to get revenge on her father King Brpxz. Lex Luthor soon gets involved with Nyxlygsptlnz.

Melissa Benoist stars as the series' titular character, Supergirl.

• Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl:
  A 24-year old Kryptonian living in National City, who must embrace her powers after previously hiding them. She assists her adoptive sister Alex as part of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO) as she discovered the truth that her adoptive father also worked for the DEO so they would not take her, while Alex's co-workers at the DEO help her perfect her powers.[1][9][10] Kara worked as Cat Grant's assistant at CatCo.[11] Benoist expressed her excitement over portraying the character, and being able to "[tell] a story about a human being really realizing their potential and their strength".[12] At the end of season one, Kara was promoted by Cat and became a junior reporter at the beginning of season two. Malina Weissman (seasons 1 and 2) and Izabela Vidovic (seasons 3, 4 and 6) portray a young Kara.[13][14]
• Mehcad Brooks as James "Jimmy" Olsen / Guardian (seasons 1–5; guest: season 6):
  A former Daily Planet photographer, James moved to National City and became the new art director for his former colleague, Cat Grant, at CatCo Worldwide Media. He is initially a potential love interest for Kara.[10][11][15] Among his reasons for moving across the country are his breakup with his fiancée, Lucy Lane,[16] and keeping an eye on the newly revealed Supergirl for Superman. While working at the Daily Planet, James received the Pulitzer Prize for taking the first photograph of Superman. In the second season, James becomes Guardian.[17] He also becomes the acting CEO of CatCo after Cat Grant leaves the company. In the fourth episode of season 5, James goes back to his hometown and uncovers a great deal of corruption going on at a new prison. By the episode's end, James decides to leave National City to run his hometown newspaper. He returns in the series finale to assist the Superfriends in the final battle against Lex and Nyxly and attend Alex and Kelly's wedding.
• Chyler Leigh as Alexandra "Alex" Danvers / Sentinel:
  Kara's human adoptive sister. She is a physician, bioengineer, scientist and government agent who serves as Hank Henshaw's right hand at the DEO.[11][18][19] Having been extensively trained in combat by Henshaw, Alex in turn provides rigorous training to Kara to decrease her over-reliance on her powers. She and Kara grow suspicious of the DEO upon learning that their missing father was forced to work there to protect Kara, but Alex ultimately learns that Henshaw is really the Martian survivor J'onn J'onzz in disguise, whom her late father had rescued before his and the real Henshaw's apparent deaths. In season two, Alex learns that her father is alive and searches for him. She also meets and befriends police detective Maggie Sawyer and begins to develop feelings for her, forcing Alex to confront her sexuality. Jordan Mazarati and Olivia Nikkanen portray a young Alex.[20][14] At the end of season three, Alex becomes the new director of the DEO.
• Jeremy Jordan as Winslow "Winn" Schott Jr. / Toyman (seasons 1–3; guest: seasons 5–6):
  A tech expert who worked alongside Kara at CatCo, he is Kara's best friend and serves as one of her allies, helping her develop her costume and aiding her in her adventures. Winn has unrequited feelings for Kara and is a rival with James for her affection. However, at the end of "For the Girl Who Has Everything", Winn has accepted that it is best that they remain as best friends and in "Solitude", he begins seeing Cat Grant's new assistant, who is also Kara's rival; Siobhan Smythe, who is subsequently fired by Cat and who, in "Worlds Finest", becomes a supernatural metahuman supervillain called Silver Banshee. In the series, he is the son of Toyman.[11][21][22] Cat nicknames him Toyman Junior after she finds out.[23] In season two, Winn left CatCo to work at the DEO as a desk agent. He also works with James Olsen as his vigilante partner. At the end of season 3, he left for the future with Mon-El and joined the Legion of Superheroes. He returns in a two-part special episode in season 5, helping the Superfriends take down his evil doppelganger, and later in the series finale to assist them in the final battle against Lex and Nyxly and attend Alex and Kelly's wedding.
• David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter:
  The head of the DEO who takes Hank Henshaw's likeness after Henshaw is killed in Peru while hunting J'onn. J'onn takes Henshaw's likeness to reform the DEO from within as well as to watch over Alex and Kara.[11][18] The evolution of Henshaw was discussed during the filming of the pilot, with the executive producers jokingly saying that Harewood would be a good actor to play the Martian Manhunter in a potential television series, to which DC Comics' Geoff Johns asked why it could not be done in Supergirl. Harewood reflected that he had difficulty "find[ing] an angle to play Hank Henshaw" in the pilot, and became excited when he was told about the change to his character's backstory.[24] Harewood also recurred in the series as the real Hank Henshaw, who became Cyborg Superman.[25]
• Calista Flockhart as Catherine J. "Cat" Grant (season 1; recurring: season 2; guest: seasons 3–4 & 6):
  The outwardly shallow and superficial, but inwardly sweet, founder of the media conglomerate CatCo Worldwide Media, who feels, since she "branded" Kara as "Supergirl", that she has proprietary custody over the new hero.[11][26] Before she founded CatCo, she was a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet, and before that, the personal assistant to the Daily Planet's Editor-in-Chief, Perry White. Cat investigates and reveals that Supergirl is Superman's cousin, which then causes Kara to become a target for some of Superman's rogues gallery. Cat also serves as a mentor to Kara, dispensing advice about being a woman in a man's world. In the episode "Hostile Takeover", she suspects that Kara is Supergirl. In the second episode of season two, Cat announces that she is taking a leave of absence from CatCo, leaving James to run the company in her stead, although she returns at the end of the season to aid the heroes during the conflict with Queen Rhea. In season three, she became the White House Press Secretary for President Olivia Marsdin. In the series finale, Cat buys back CatCo and hires Kara as her new editor-in-chief, while also disclosing to Kara herself that she has always known of Kara's Supergirl identity. Shortly after, Cat gives an interview where Kara publicly reveals herself as Supergirl.[27]
• Chris Wood as Mon-El / Mike Matthews (seasons 2–3; guest: seasons 5–6):
  A prince from the planet Daxam with similar powers to Superman and Supergirl, Mon-El lands on Earth in the pod at the end of season one.[28][29][30]
• Floriana Lima as Margarita "Maggie" Sawyer (season 2; recurring: season 3):
  A detective for the National City Police Department who takes a special interest in the cases involving aliens and metahumans.[31] The first openly gay character introduced, Maggie dates Alex Danvers, even becoming engaged. However, this is broken off. Lima became a recurring actress for the third season, departing in the season's fifth episode. Lima noted the role was only intended to last for one season.[32]
• Katie McGrath as Lena Kieran Luthor (seasons 3–6; recurring: season 2):[33]
  The CEO of L-Corp (formerly known as Luthor Corp) and the younger paternal half-sister of Lex Luthor. She arrives in National City after Lex has been incarcerated, hoping to rebrand Luthor Corp as a force for good.[34] As the daughter of Lionel Luthor, to whom she is close, Lena tries to redeem her family name after Lex's crimes have tarnished it and to break from her half-brother and step-mother's legacy. Initially, she believed that she was the adopted daughter of Lionel and Lillian Luthor, but Lena learns that she is actually Lionel's illegitimate child from his extramarital affair. Lena meets Kara after Kara is assigned to interview Lena about L-Corp. Shortly after, the two develop a very close relationship. Camille Marty portrays a young Lena.[35]
• Odette Annable as Samantha "Sam" Arias / Reign (season 3; guest: season 5):
  Another Kryptonian sent to Earth as an infant and single mother to her daughter Ruby. Samantha's villainous alternate personality, Reign, emerges in the middle of season 3, but she is unaware of it and her alter ego's actions.[36][37]
• Jesse Rath as Querl "Brainy" Dox / Brainiac 5 (seasons 4–6; recurring: season 3):
  A half-A.I., half-organic 12th-level intellect from the planet Colu and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century.[38]
• Sam Witwer as Benjamin Lockwood / Agent Liberty (season 4; guest: season 5):
  The brilliant, ruthless, and terrifying founder and figurehead of Children of Liberty, a human-supremacist hate group that supports a human-first world order.[39]
• Nicole Maines as Nia Nal / Dreamer (seasons 4–6):
  A soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others and the newest addition to the CatCo reporting team. The character is the first transgender superhero on television.[40]
• April Parker Jones as Colonel Lauren Haley (season 4):
  A hardline career military woman who lives and dies by the orders of her commanding officers. Dedicated to her country, she always acts in its best interest — even if it's not her own.[40]
• Azie Tesfai as Kelly Olsen (seasons 5–6; recurring: season 4):
  James's younger, no-nonsense sister, recently returned to the United States following a military tour overseas.
• Andrea Brooks as Eve Teschmacher (season 5; recurring: seasons 2–4; guest: season 6):
  A former CatCo assistant who became part of Lena's research team at L-Corp before being revealed as a dastardly turncoat spy working for Lex Luthor. She is also revealed to be an unwilling spy working for Leviathan, which has been manipulating Lex Luthor.
• Julie Gonzalo as Andrea Rojas / Acrata (seasons 5–6):
  A CEO of Obsidian Tech who is the new editor-in-chief of Catco Worldwide Media and an old friend of Lena Luthor.
• Staz Nair as William Dey (seasons 5–6):
  A new star reporter at Catco Worldwide Media who is secretly remains under the London Times newspapers' employ and undercover to investigates Andrea Rojas, suspecting that she is a criminal.
• LaMonica Garrett as Mar Novu / Monitor (season 5; guest: season 4):
  A multiversal being testing different Earths in the multiverse in preparation for an impending "crisis", providing the Book of Destiny to John Deegan, releasing J'onn J'onzz's brother, and retrieving the corpse of Lex Luthor. He made his first appearance in the Arrowverse crossover "Elseworlds".
  • Garrett also portrays Mobius / Anti-Monitor, the Monitor's polar opposite, an evil being dedicated to ending the multiverse.[41][42]
• Peta Sergeant as Nyxlygsptlnz "Nyxly" (season 6):
  A 5th Dimension Imp princess who Kara meets in the Phantom Zone, who desires revenge on her father for banishing her and killing her brother, and is willing to do whatever is necessary to get it.[43]

In Canada, Supergirl aired in a sim-subbed simulcast on Global with the American broadcast in the first season;[94] the second season saw it move to Showcase in the same arrangement.[95]

In the United Kingdom, Supergirl premiered on Sky One on October 29, 2015.[96]

In Australia, Supergirl premiered on FOX8 on December 6, 2015.[97]

In November 2014, Berlanti expressed interest in Supergirl existing in the Arrowverse, the same universe as his other series Arrow and The Flash,[143][144] and in January 2015, The CW president Mark Pedowitz revealed that he was also open to a crossover between the series and networks (due to Berlanti executive producing all three and The CW being co-owned by CBS). However, CBS Entertainment chair Nina Tassler stated that month that "those two shows are on a different network. So I think we'll keep Supergirl to ourselves for a while."[145] In August 2015, Tassler revealed that while there were no plans at the time to do crossover storylines, the three series would have crossover promotions.[146]

Pedowitz regretted passing on the series when presented it in mid-2014, saying, "We hadn't launched The Flash yet, we weren't ready to take on another DC property. In hindsight we probably should've gone that direction...Sometimes you lose great shows."[147] In January 2016, during the Television Critics Association press tour, he said that The CW was still interested in a crossover with Supergirl if the producers could find a way to do it,[148] and Berlanti added that while no official conversations had taken place, internal ones had concerning how a crossover would work. He also noted that for a crossover to happen during Supergirl's first season, it would have to be figured out "in the next month or so".[149] Glenn Geller, Tassler's successor at CBS, then stated on the matter, "I have to be really careful what I say here. Watch and wait and see what happens."[150]

On February 3, 2016, it was announced that Grant Gustin, who appears as Barry Allen / Flash on The Flash, would appear in the eighteenth episode of the first season, "Worlds Finest".[151] While no plot details on the episodes were released at the time, Ross A. Lincoln of Deadline Hollywood noted that "the in-universe reason" for the crossover was due to Barry's ability to travel to various dimensions, thus implying that Supergirl exists on an alternate Earth to Arrow and The Flash in a multiverse.[152] The Flash episode "Welcome to Earth-2" confirmed this, showing an image of Benoist as Supergirl during a sequence where characters travel through that multiverse.[153] The earth that the series inhabits is Earth-38 in the Arrowverse multiverse,[154] and has been informally referred to as "Earth-CBS" by Marc Guggenheim, one of the creators of Arrow.[155]

During the second season, Supergirl appears in "Invasion!", a crossover episode of The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow,[155][156] when she's recruited by Barry Allen and Cisco Ramon at the end of "Medusa" to help fight off an invasion by the Dominators.[157] Supergirl and The Flash also featured in a musical crossover, featuring several covers of existing songs along with two original numbers.[30] Similar to "Invasion!", the crossover begins at the end of the Supergirl episode "Star-Crossed" and primarily takes place during The Flash episode "Duet", featuring the Music Meister as the antagonist who puts both The Flash and Supergirl in a shared hallucination.[158] After "Invasion!", Guggenheim felt "If there's an appetite for it from the fans and from the network," the crossover next year could be "a proper four-part crossover."[159]

At the 2017 Paleyfest event, Kreisberg reiterated the creative team's intention to do a full four-way crossover the following year.[160] At San Diego Comic Con 2017, it was confirmed that another four-way crossover would take place, with Supergirl playing a larger role than the previous season. The four-way crossover event, titled "Crisis on Earth-X", took place on November 27 and 28, 2017, across Supergirl and Arrow (on the first night) and The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow (on the second night).[161][162]

In May 2018, Arrow star Stephen Amell announced at The CW upfronts that the next Arrowverse crossover would feature Batwoman and Gotham City. The crossover, titled "Elseworlds", aired in December 2018, ahead of a potential 2019 solo series for the character.[163][164] Supergirl was confirmed to have a participating episode in August, which closed out the three-part crossover, trading nights with The Flash just for the event. Therefore, the show's participating episode aired on Tuesday, December 11.[165] The end of "Elseworlds" teased the next crossover event, "Crisis on Infinite Earths".[166] Supergirl's episode opened the five-part crossover on December 8, 2019, with the final two installments airing on January 14, 2020.[167] At the end of the event, the new Earth-Prime was formed, which saw Earth-38 merged with the former Earth-1 and Black Lightning's earth, creating a fictional universe where all of the CW series exist together.[168]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Supergirl (TV series).

• CWTV page (only available in the United States)
• Official CBS website at the Wayback Machine (archived July 10, 2016)
• DC page: TV series, comic (AOS2016) Archived October 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
• Supergirl at IMDb