Look, up in the sky: It’s CBS’ ratings for Supergirl. 
 
 The series premiere of the action-adventure series opened strong Monday night, delivering a fall new series record of 14 million viewers and a 3.2 rating among adults 18–49. 
 
 The debut was aided by a hearty push from opener The Big Bang Theory, (15.9 million, 4.2), and plenty of marketing and buzz surrounding the show — the first female-focused costumed superhero show to hit a Big 4 broadcast network in decades. 
 
 The previous record holders this season among new shows were CBS’ Life in Pieces (11.3 million viewers) among total viewers and NBC’s procedural thriller Blindspot (3.1 rating). Supergirl could adjust to tie the Blindspot number in the demo when the nationals come in later today, but even if that happens its total audience tally will remain in first place for the fall. 
 
 After The Big Bang Theory, Supergirl was the highest-rated series on the air last night, beating shows in the demo like NBC’s Blindspot (2.2), Fox’s Minority Report (0.6) and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (1.9). 
 
 Supergirl‘s performance follows a dismal fall of largely lackluster new show premieres. Supergirl was forecasted to be a show that might break that pattern, despite last night’s pilot leaking onto BitTorrent back in May (or, perhaps, aided by the buzziness generated by viewers watching the leaked version — it’s hard to know for sure). 
 
 Either way, CBS is surely breathing a sigh of relief this morning, though a hesitant one. The big test, especially for a serialized show, is how the series holds up in the coming weeks. Recent seasons have many examples of high-concept shows that debuted big and then steadily dropped, like Fox’s Gotham and Sleepy Hollow. 
 
 Related: Will Supergirl end fall’s ratings drought? 
 
 Meanwhile star Melissa Benoist declared Supergirl is feminist by saying “what’s feminist about it is that it’s for everyone. She has all the same powers [Superman] does.” Here’s EW’s recap of the premiere, and definitely check out our interview with the showrurnner about the premiere and what’s to come. ||||| UPDATE, 2:45 PM: As we projected, Supergirl was adjusted down a tenth in the finals to a 3.1 in adults 18-49 and now is tied with NBC’s Blindspot as No. 1 new series this season in the demo (Live+Same Day). In other adjustments, Supergirl‘s lead-in, The Big Bang Theory (4.4), went up 0.2, while several series on NBC and ABC whose fast nationals were inflated by football preemptions were adjusted down: Blindspot (2.1, even with last week), Dancing With The Stars (1.8, down a tenth), and a Castle repeat. 
 
 PREVIOUS, 9:45 AM: Following a massive marketing campaign and positive reviews, CBS‘ Supergirl took flight last night behind The Big Bang Theory with a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49 and 12.94 million viewers in the fast nationals, according to CBS. If the numbers hold in the finals, Supergirl will rank as the highest-rated and most-watched freshman series this fall in Live+Same Day, matching the series debut of CBS’ Monday drama Scorpion, also with Big Bang as lead-in, last fall. (That lead-in was a 5.4 demo rating vs. 4.2 for last night’s episode of Big Bang, making for a stronger retention for Supergirl, +76%). 
 
 Supergirl outperformed the series premiere of CBS comedy Life In Pieces (2.6) in the Monday 8:30 PM time period earlier this fall and posted a small but encouraging ratings uptick between the first and second half-hour. Its 3.2 opening number also matched the series premiere of the other DC Comics Monday drama that Supergirl will face head-to-head at 8 PM starting next Monday, Fox’s Batman-themed Gotham, which also started with a 3.2 18-49 rating with no lead-in and facing a highly rated hourlong Big Bang season premiere. 
 
 Some detailed fast nationals calculations this morning have the Supergirl premiere rounding to a 3.1 in 18-49. And as Big Bang runs over by a minute, its lead-outs often are adjusted down in the finals as was the case with the Scorpion premiere last year and the Life In Pieces debut this year. If that happens, Supergirl will tie NBC’s Blindspot for the No. 1 spot in 18-49 among new series in L+SD. Of course, in today’s landscape where shows can double their Live+SD rating in delayed/non-linear viewing, such jockeying over a tenth of a rating point is pretty meaningless. We will have to wait at least for the Live+3 results to see which series will claim top bragging rights. One thing is certain: uber producer Greg Berlanti, who is behind both Supergirl and Blindspot, will claim the top 2 highest-rated new series premieres in 18-49 this fall. It’s been a very strong fall for the prolific producer, with his CW series The Flash and Arrow also returning to big season-premiere ratings. 
 
 Boosted by the Supergirl premiere from 8:30-9:30 PM, a special 90-minute episode of Scorpion (1.9) was up 8% from last week. 
 
 Due to football preemptions, NBC and ABC’s fast nationals were likely inflated and may undergo downward adjustment. For now, NBC’s Blindspot (2.2) as well as its lead-in, The Voice (3.1), both are running higher by a tenth vs. last week, while ABC’s Dancing With The Stars (1.9) was even. 
 
 Fox’s Gotham (1.5) got a 15% boost with the introduction of the first-ever female Firefly. But the gains did not carry over to struggling freshman Minority Report (0.6), which tied last week’s low. 
 
 Speaking of struggles, the CW is testing some serious low levels for in-season original scripted programming with its Monday comedy block. Both Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.2) and Jane The Virgin (0.3) slipped a tenth, with Jane hitting a series low in Live+SD. 
 
 With a 9.0 result in metered markets, last night’s Monday Night Football featuring the Arizona Cardinals’ 26-18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens was roughly on par with last week. The primetime ESPN game dipped 6% from last week’s matchup between Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. The second-best MNF has done this season, that game also saw the exclusive debut of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer – which certainly helped in the ratings. MNF is expected to again win the night in both the demo and viewership. ||||| During World War II, a plane piloted by Major Steve Trevor crashes near Paradise Island, the secret hidden island home of the mighty and eternally young Amazons. He is rescued by Princess Diana, who learns of the war against the Nazis. The Amazons decide to send one of their own to help fight in this crisis. Although forbidden to participate in the selection process, Diana joins secretly and wins the right and responsibility to go. Taking the still unconscious Major to safety, she joins him as Yeoman Diana Prince. Furthermore, when the forces of evil threaten the nation, Diana would spin to transform into Wonder Wonder, armed with a magic belt giving her tremendous strength, bracelets that can stop any bullet, a tiara that can be thrown as a returning weapon and a unbreakable magic lasso that can force anyone to tell the truth. After WW II, she returned to the Island, only to encounter Steve Trevor Jr., agent for IADC, thirty years later. Seeing the amazing coincidence as a sign, she ... Written by Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com> ||||| UPDATED WITH FINALS: “Supergirl” took flight in the ratings Monday night for CBS, riding fanboy/fangirl curiosity, a strong lead-in and mostly positive reviews to tie with NBC’s “Blindspot” as the fall’s top premiere score in the key young-adult demo while leading all new shows outright in total viewers. 
 
 In Nielsen’s national estimates, “Supergirl” averaged a 3.1 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 12.95 million viewers overall from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., retaining 70% of the young-adult audience for “The Big Bang Theory” in the 8 o’clock half-hour (five-week high 4.4/14 in 18-49, 16.32 million viewers overall). The DC Comics adaptation starring Melissa Benoist tied with NBC’s “The Voice” as No. 2 behind only “Big Bang” among Monday’s entertainment series. 
 
 “Supergirl” will have to do battle starting next week without a lead-in from TV’s No. 1 comedy, though CBS has to be pleased that the superhero show’s premiere grew slightly in its second half-hour in 18-49 (3.2 vs. 3.1) while holding steady in both 25-54 (4.0) and 18-34 (1.8). 
 
 Monday’s opening for “Supergirl” is on par with what “Scorpion” bowed to last fall (3.1 in 18-49, 13.9 million total viewers) when it too was launched behind (a higher-rated) “The Big Bang Theory.” 
 
 Related TV Series Scorecard: How the New Shows Are Faring This Fall 
 
 Among the premieres this fall, “Supergirl” ties for No. 1 in adults 18-49 and 25-54 with NBC’s “Blindspot” — both from uber producer Greg Berlanti. And for all of 2015, it trails in 18-49 only AMC’s “The Walking Dead” spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead” from August (4.9), Fox’s “Empire” in January (3.8) and AMC’s “Better Call Saul” in February (3.4, airing behind “The Walking Dead”). 
 
 “Supergirl” is also the fall’s top-rated new series in all key male demos. And in total viewers, “Supergirl” bests the bows of CBS comedy “Life in Pieces” (11.3 million) and NBC drama “Blindspot” (10.6 million) to rank No. 1 for fall by this measure as well. 
 
 The gender split was interesting, with less than half of the 18-49, 25-54 and teen 12-17 audience comprised of females. But among the youngest of adults, those 18-34, femmes comprised 58% of the viewership. 
 
 See More: ‘Supergirl’ Premiere: Melissa Benoist and Producers Talk Female Empowerment On Screen and Off 
 
 Monday’s premiere exceeded most prognostications, though some thought it would have popped a bit more, given that comicbook geeks generally help series with superhero themes get off to outsized starts. ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD,” for example, opened in September 2013 with the highest adults 18-49 rating for any new broadcast drama in recent years (4.7) but is now doing about one-third of that in same-night numbers in its third season, and Fox’s “Gotham” opened with a strong 3.3 in September of 2014 and is currently doing less than half that for Fox early in its second season. Both shows are doing fine for their respective networks, but they’re not the juggernauts they appeared out of the gate. 
 
 A recent exception is CW’s “The Flash,” which opened to a 1.9 rating in October 2014 to become the network’s biggest premiere ever. It has held up well and is delivering in the 1.4-1.5 range this fall and remains the net’s strongest show. 
 
 Critics were generally supportive of “Supergirl,” which garnered the highest Metacritic score among the fall’s new broadcast dramas. In his review, Variety‘s Brian Lowry called it “a very good, polished pilot,” even it represents a sizable gamble for a network known mostly for its crime drama procedurals. 
 
 According to global digital marketing technology company Amobee Brand Intelligence, “Supergirl” is by far the new show generating the most discussion online this fall; in fact, there’s already been more than three times the digital content engagement around the show on Tuesday than any other newcomer on the day after in debuted. “Scream Queens,” “The Muppets,” “Quantico” and “Blindspot” rounded out the top five shows on the company’s list, but combined they weren’t as popular as the superhero show. 
 
 CBS followed “Supergirl” on Monday with a 90-minute episode of “Scorpion” (1.9/6 in 18-49, 9.69 million viewers overall), which hit a five-week high (best since its season premiere). 
 
 The competition held up pretty well opposite a stronger CBS, with NBC’s “The Voice” (3.1/9 in 18-49, 11.88 million viewers overall) up a tick and “Blindspot” holding steady (2.2/7 in 7.91 million viewers overall) to help the net edge past CBS for the night. 
 
 Fox’s “Gotham” (1.5/5 in 18-49, 4.32 million viewers overall) was up from last week as well, though its falloff in the second half-hour (1.4 vs. 1.6 at 8 p.m.) suggests that it lost some viewers to “Supergirl” at 8:30. “Minority Report” (0.6/2 in 18-49, 1.92 million viewers overall) held at last week’s low number. 
 
 At ABC, “Dancing With the Stars” (1.8/5 in 18-49, 11.86 million viewers overall) was down a tick with its Halloween-themed night. A repeat “Castle” closed things out (0.8/2 in 18-49, 4.47 million viewers overall). 
 
 CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (0.2/1 in 18-49, 0.67 million viewers overall) and “Jane the Virgin” (0.3/1 in 18-49, 0.94 million viewers overall) both were down a tick from last week. 
 
 ESPN won Monday overall with its “Monday Night Football” game between the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals, which averaged a 4.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 12.2 million viewers overall. 
 
 VH1’s “Love and Hip-Hop” was again Monday’s No. 1 cable entertainment series in 18-49 (1.5 rating, 2.67 million viewers overall ||||| 
 
 Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, with Chyler Leigh and David Harewood. (Cliff Lipson/CBS) 
 
 The ad campaign for CBS’s “Supergirl,” which premieres Monday night, quotes some of what the nation’s TV critics have said about the show — including a top-of-the-skyscraper cheer from yours truly, who gave the pilot episode an A- in his fall season preview: “Let’s hear it for Supergirl!” 
 
 [2015 Fall TV Preview] 
 
 Hank Stuever has been The Post's TV critic since 2009. He joined the paper in 1999 as a writer for the Style section, where he has covered an array of popular (and unpopular) culture across the nation. View Archive 
 
 Yes, let’s. 
 
 Keeping in mind that critics have still seen only the first episode (which, if nothing else, looked expensive to make) there are many reasons to see “Supergirl” as more than just another byproduct of the mania for comic-book culture. Even if the series bombs in the ratings (it’s always possible) or peters out after a few episodes, the pilot ought to be studied by other would-be creators and writers — and even viewers — for everything it gets right. 
 
 A short list would include . . . 
 
 Writing and editing. “Supergirl,” co-produced by Greg Berlanti (who helped make niche hits for the CW out of “Arrow” and “The Flash”) with Ali Adler, Andrew Kreisberg and Sarah Schechter, doesn’t waste a word or a swoosh getting started. 
 
 And, unlike so many he-man super stories of the multiplex, it doesn’t involve a long and excessively metaphorical origin tale. It’s as simple as this: As Krypton was exploding, baby Kal-El’s parents rocket-shipped him off to faraway Earth, where, with its yellow sun, they hoped he would grow up to be a strong symbol of peace and hope. Trailing not far behind in her own rocketship, his older cousin, Kara Zor-El, was supposed to babysit Kal-El and make sure it all worked out. 
 
 But when Krypton exploded, it knocked Kara’s ship into the Phantom Zone, where time stands still. When her ship finally broke free and landed on Earth, Superman was all grown up and Kara was still 13, so she was adopted and raised by a scientist couple. Which brings us to . . . 
 
 Casting. Although she’s not exactly unknown (especially to “Glee” viewers who made it past Season 3), 27-year-old Melissa Benoist is one of those rare out-of-nowhere casting miracles. She does a remarkable job of inhabiting the lead role — not just in the cape-related flying and fighting scenes, which are hard to make convincing, but also in a role that requires her to become a new kind of secret-identity nerd (the Clark Kent factor), who is less likely to keep her powers hidden from her trusted friends. Which, in a way, leads to . . . 
 
 
 
 Melissa Benoist and Calista Flockhart in “Supergirl.” (Trae Patton/CBS) 
 
 Easy-breezy feminism. Benoist’s Kara may toil and fetch lattes as an assistant to the demanding “Devil Wears Prada”-style media magnate Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), but she seems to have the full force of Twitter-era, post-grrrl feminism at the ready — both in her dialogue and in her regard for the women around her, including her boss, her adoptive older sister (who turns out to be a covert government agent) or her eventual archenemy, a female general who escaped Krypton’s maximum-security prison. 
 
 Kara protests Cat’s top-down decision, in the Daily Tribune stylebook, to refer to National City’s mysterious new flying hero as Super girl (instead of Superwoman) but acquiesces when Cat gives a succinct argument that “girls” (of any age) can be indomitable. 
 
 Compare all of this with what the old “Wonder Woman” looked like in the jiggle-rific prime-time schedule of the mid-’70s; it feels like Kara/Supergirl says more — in literal dialogue — than Lynda Carter’s heroine would say in an entire season. One way or another, we’re making progress. 
 
 Still, it turns out that “Supergirl’s” strongest asset is not the fact that she’s female, it’s that she’s young. Which leads to perhaps the smartest idea in “Supergirl” . . . 
 
 Millennial wish-fulfillment! “Supergirl” is one of the few shows on TV that seem to effortlessly embrace both the inhibitions and independence of someone who is proudly young, without a single scene that involves texting etiquette, swiping or whining (in tones of vocal fry) about how hard her life is compared with everyone else’s. She has seen her planet blown up (along with its economy and job opportunities) — so what else you got? 
 
 In her secret identity, Kara only pretends to be cowed by a Gen-Xer boss, when, in just a few quick but necessary scenes, we see how she masterfully and capably navigates the workplace. 
 
 Instead of kvetching with a crowded apartment full of snarky roommates, Kara lives alone in an exposed-brick loft — an achievement that seems super enough in today’s market. Yes, the big apartment is a reminder that “Supergirl” is pure fantasy — but it’s a helpful fantasy nonetheless. Her world is light-years apart from, say, HBO’s “Girls.” 
 
 
 
 Melissa Benoist with Mehcad Brooks, who plays James Olsen. (Warner Bros. Entertainment /CBS) 
 
 Kara doesn’t toy with the lovesick IT guy (Jeremy Jordan) who has a crush on her, nor does she hook up with him to stave off ennui; instead she co-opts him into helping her design Supergirl’s costume and launch her crime-fighting debut. She may have X-ray eyes for the handsome new art director (Mehcad Brooks as a more mature James “Jimmy” Olsen), but, since he’s a friend of her famous cousin, she also welcomes his advice on how Supergirl should demonstrate her might. 
 
 “Supergirl” is a reminder of how little TV audiences get to purely idealize a young woman and root for her amazing abilities, instead of joining her for a wallow in self-absorbed millennial misery and relationship mistakes. Whether actual millennials, who tend to avoid broadcast TV like the plague, will respond to this aspect of “Supergirl” is unknown. (And I’m sure they just adore the way I manage to celebrate and condescend from one sentence to the next.) 
 
 All of this is not to say that “Supergirl” features a heroine who has leapfrogged over the usual quarter-century, post- 
 
 collegiate qualms. Kara’s biggest vulnerability (besides Kryptonite darts) is that she worries that she’s somehow not living up to her potential, to what her parents dreamed for her. Like many from her generation, she seeks her mother’s input — even if Mom is just a hologram. Should she remain a closeted alien (“Supergirl” invites a nifty twist to our immigration debate, as it applies to actual aliens), or should she become her truest, most heroic self? 
 
 “You want to help?” snarls the head of the government’s Department of Extranormal Operations, who is none too pleased to see Supergirl’s brash arrival on the scene. “Go back to getting someone’s coffee.” 
 
 There you have the one sentiment that millennials say they most despise: being told to wait their turn. Superman and his world stand for an unambiguously uber-mensch service to the cause. Supergirl very clearly and without a hint of cross-generational acrimony says: Move over, and make some room. 
 
 Supergirl (one hour) premieres Monday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS. (It moves to its regular 8 p.m. time slot on Nov. 2.)
– It's been 40 years since Lynda Carter brought Wonder Woman to the small screen—and 40 years since the debut of any other show centered on a female superhero on a "Big Four" network (CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox). Monday night changed all that with the CBS premiere of Supergirl, starring Melissa Benoist in the title role, and even Kryptonite couldn't stop its momentum. The show set a record for this fall's new-series premieres, pulling in 12.9 million viewers and achieving a 3.2 rating in Nielsen's preliminary national estimates with adults ages 18 to 49, Deadline and Variety report. It helped that the show was preceded by The Big Bang Theory, which drew its own 15.9 million viewers and a 4.2 rating, and CBS is hoping the buzz won't die down as it often does for other serialized shows as the weeks pass, Entertainment Weekly notes. If the series' immediate reception is a sign, viewers will stay riveted. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Mary McNamara dubs the show "super-charming" and notes it fits neatly into the "army of super-females (albeit still in an exclusively Caucasian palette)" the network has been promoting via shows like The Good Wife and Madam Secretary. And in the Washington Post, Hank Stuever compiles a short list for "everything it gets right," including the writing and editing, the casting ("Benoist is one of those rare out-of-nowhere casting miracles"), the show's "easy-breezy feminism," and its "millennial wish-fulfillment." Calling the show a "world ... light-years apart from, say, HBO's Girls," he notes it's "one of the few shows on TV that seem to effortlessly embrace both the inhibitions and independence of someone who is proudly young, without a single scene that involves texting etiquette, swiping, or whining … about how hard her life is compared with everyone else's."