At San Diego Comic Con, the cast and producers of the upcoming CBS show Supergirl were out and about and we discussed the show, the characters, and what we can expect from this upcoming first season.
The first person to sit down was David Harewood who plays Hank Henshaw on the upcoming show. Harewood mentioned that Henshaw will be more than "the office bad guy." We asked Harewood if there would be any connection between the comic book version of the character, who, during the Return of Superman, became Cyborg Superman.
"What I think is great about comic books, a little bit like Shakespearean plays, depending on which production you go to, it's completely interpretive. What's great about our Hank Henshaw is that he's going to be very, very fresh and very, very new, but he's still going to embody lots of characteristics of the comic book Hank Henshaw, but we're going to incorporate some new stuff, so it's going to be exciting for the fans to see how we're going to change him and how he's going to develop."
Harewood went on to say that Hank has a dislike of aliens and we may or may not find out. In the comics, Superman was responsible for the death of Hank's wife. Hank hates aliens, but the reason why may be surprising. There seems to be a whole lot more to Hank than we're led on to be.
From there, David says it's refreshing to have a show led by women. He continues saying there's lots of relatable aspects about the show and its characters. They have struggles and that's what makes people connect with them.
The next person to come to the table was Chyler Leigh, who plays Alex Danvers on the show, Supergirl's adopted sister. Leigh started off by saying the fan reaction "totally makes sense." She spoke very highly of the star of the show, Melissa Benoist, and how she really owns the role. Leigh went on to say that even though they don't always work together, the cast really gels with each other. "That's always a relief."
Leigh was asked about how this female-driven show will affect women and young girls across the world. Chyler mentions she has two daughters, and that was part of the reason she wanted to do this show. She says this is something her kids can watch. "For me, it hits home. I'm excited for them to see someone setting a good example."
As for the sister dynamic between Alex and Kara, Leigh said Alex is protective of Kara, as Kara steps out and becomes who she truly is. She says in the beginning, there's almost a competitiveness between the two characters.
Up next was creator Andrew Kreisberg and he said there's something amazing about seeing someone full of hope and life and a symbol for everyone, as well as women, as he talks about Supergirl. He said he and Greg Berlanti always "look towards the light." We asked Andrew about the show growing on it's own and whether or not, in the future, we could see Supergirl crossover with The Flash, Arrow, or Legends of Tomorrow or whether this is a shared universe.
"Whether Supergirl becomes part of the 'CWverse,' those are questions above my pay-grade. Whenever you expand those things, there's the danger of 'when you stretch it out, it all collapses.' We were surprised as anyone that Flash and Arrow seem to make each other stronger and adding Legends to it will hopefully make it all rise up higher.
Supergirl is its own thing and that's ok. Hopefully, Supergirl won't need that. Adding it might make the whole thing collapse. That doesn't mean Supergirl won't be as expansive as those other shows were. We're adding DC Comics characters to that show in the same way that Flash had Firestorm and Flash was on Arrow.
Supergirl isn't just going to be Supergirl. It's going to be a whole bunch other DC Comics characters, some of which you've seen before that you're going to see in a new light with us and others that have never gotten their live-action due."
Kreisberg went on to say that the big difference between Superman and Supergirl is that Clark came here when he was a baby and Supergirl came here when she was 13. She had a life, prior to here. There will be flashbacks to an earlier time for her on Earth as well as flashbacks to her on Krypton. Kara has knowledge and experiences from Krypton she brings to Earth. Kara remembers her mother and life.
Greg Berlanti showed up to the table next. He said that working with with Melissa Benoist was exhilarating and that normally, an actor can walk around comic con with no problem before the show airs, but everyone already knows who she is so that's been tough for her without getting stopped. Berlanti went on to say that this show is their avenue into the intergalactic world of superhero shows.
He goes on to say that Superman is a part of this world, and it would be weird to have Supergirl there before Superman. Berlanti was reluctant to mention some of the other characters that would appear on the shows but he did say there will be Superman villains shown on Supergirl. Berlanti hinted at the fact that the "S" symbol is the reason some villains will go after Supergirl, since both she and her cousin share that part of their costume.
Krypton will be a part of the show. We will see it. He went on to say that they added an adult sister because they wanted the show to stand on its own. If they took the superpowers away, what is the show about? It's about a young woman trying to find her way in the world.
The next person to sit with us was writer Ali Adler. She discussed working on a show led by a female superhero.
"When you watch the pilot, you're thinking 'female superhero,' but by the end, you're like 'superhero.' You really quickly forget gender and you just look at her strength of character and it's very cool."
Adler went on to talk about how all these characters inspire each other, no matter the dynamic they have with anyone else. Adler continued to say that it's a rich world and characters and there's lots to explore. She went on to say she's excited to watch the show with her kids because it doesn't have any dirty words and isn't extremely violent.
"It's about empowerment of all people, not just women. It has something for everyone."
Adler says she loves writing Cat Grant, but there's a lot of aspects of each character she loves writing for the show. Adler continued to talk about the genre of the show and she says that they strip each scene down to the core when they work on it to highlight the human elements of each scene.
Finally, the star of Supergirl, Melissa Benoist sat down with us. Melissa said that Comic Co is crazy and overwhelming. She's always wanted to go. She describes the life struggles her character is going through in the pilot of series.
Benoist went on to say that while she was auditioning, she started reading the New 52 to get prepared. When she told Berlanti and Adler about that, the writers told Benoist that they're making a new universe, so Melissa stopped reading to have a fresh take. She went on to say she's discovering a lot about herself as much as Kara is on the show. Benoist told us that she was a huge Judy Garland fan growing up and that was one of her inspirations growing up.
As for the tone of the show, it's lighter but there are "dark moments." She went on to say "I love that this is more positive and uplifting."
That's it for the roundtable! Make sure to check out Supergirl on Monday, October 26 at 8:30/7:30C on CBS.