“Supergirl” is an ambitious new television series that premiered in late October. It’s apparent that CBS has hopes to compete with the new wave of superheroes finding their way to television, rather than the big screen. It has the potential to win over the hearts of many viewers, however, it’s not as serious and existential as the heroes we have become familiar with recently. As the title suggests, this series is meant to be family-friendly; in other words, cue the cheesiness, generic iMovie sound effects and positive messages. In defense of “Supergirl,” Superman has historically been the cheesiest of superheroes. The show is aware of its own cheesiness, even having a character quip “Finally, a female role model my daughter can look up to.” This pushes their marketing standpoint even further.
The premise is less clever and more convenient. Kara was sent to Earth to look after her cousin, Superman, when her planet was dying. However, her ship entered a zone in space that froze time. Once she landed on Earth, it was years later, which explains the age gap between Kara and her cousin. Since Superman is saving the world and doing fine on his own, Kara has nothing to do but blend in. She assumes the job of a coffee-grabbing assistant at CatCo, the rival newspaper to The Daily Planet, which sounds more like a pet-supply shop. Kara struggles to meet the demands of her egocentric boss, Calista Flockhart—picture Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Kara becomes bored of the normal life and is itching to put her superhero powers to practice. Once she finally has the opportunity to use her powers by saving a failing plane with her sister aboard, she exposes herself and cannot help but become attracted to the prospect of performing more good deeds for National City. Meanwhile, a group of alien-prison convicts plan to wreak havoc on earth with Kara’s evil aunt as the leader. This provides an ample amount of villains for Kara to fight.
Melissa Benoist (“Glee”) has charisma as the leading lady, Kara. She’s so easily likeable that it’s hard not to get swept away by her bubbly personality. Even Jeb Bush made headlines with a comment that he is excited to watch the show because Supergirl is “pretty hot.” Chyler Leigh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is the foster sister, Alex, who coincidentally works for the extraterrestrial division at the CIA. Jeremy Jordan (“Smash”) plays Winn, the typical sidekick friend who has a thing for Kara and does not know how to escape the friend zone, but will inevitably end up with her. James, played by Mehcad Brooks, is the red herring love interest of Kara who discovers her real identity. James, Winn and Kara already have a love triangle developing, however, it is all too obvious she will end up with Winn because that’s always how the generic story goes.
The plot relies on lazy maneuvers and clichés in order to keep the show going. Maybe 10 or 20 years ago this would have worked, but modern audiences have become too smart and expect more. The problem with “Supergirl” is it’s not rising to the level of sophistication that audiences now expect, not to mention the acting, which is mediocre at best. To borrow a headline featured at CatCo, “Supergirl” has failed to launch. From a family-friendly standpoint, this is a perfectly average show that many middle schoolers will enjoy. However, from a young adult’s perspective, this show doesn’t give enough originality and wit to become a success past a certain age group.
Do you think “Supergirl” is the new show to watch? Let Ben know at bagolden@wisc.edu.
