Supergirl

## Production

### Executive Producers

Sarah Schechter, Ali Adler, Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti, Robert Rovner, Jessica Queller

### Production Company

Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television

## Series Chronology

### Next

Legends of Tomorrow

Supergirl is an American superhero television series developed by Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg (the latter two having previously created *Arrow* and *The Flash*) that originally aired on CBS and premiered on October 26, 2015. It is based on the DC Comics character Supergirl, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, and stars Melissa Benoist in the title role. Supergirl is a costumed superheroine who is Superman's cousin and one of the last surviving Kryptonians. The series is the third series set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the franchise.

## Plot

The adventures of Superman's cousin in her own superhero career.

## Cast and Characters

* Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El / Supergirl:
A 24-year-old Kryptonian living in National City, who must embrace her powers after previously hiding them. She assists her adoptive sister 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][7][8] Kara worked as Cat Grant's assistant at CatCo.[9] 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".[10] 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 and 4) portray a young Kara.[11][12]
* Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen:
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.[8][9][13]Among his reasons for moving across the country are his breakup with his fiancée, Lucy Lane,[14] 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.[15] He also becomes the acting CEO of CatCo after Cat Grant takes a leave of absence.
* Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers:
Kara's human adoptive sister. She is a scientist and government agent who serves as Hank Henshaw's right-hand at the DEO.[9][16][17] Having been extensively trained in combat by Henshaw, Alex in turn provides rigorous training to Kara in order 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 in order 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.[18][12] At the end of season three, Alex becomes the new director of the DEO.
* Jeremy Jordan as Winslow "Winn" Schott, Jr.:
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.[9][19][20] Cat nicknames him Toyman Junior after she finds out.[21] 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.
* 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 in order to reform the DEO from within as well as to watch over Alex and Kara.[9][16] 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.[22]Harewood also recurs in the series as the real Hank Henshaw, who becomes Cyborg Superman.[23]
* Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant:
The outwardly shallow and superficial 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.[9][24] 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 she is taking a leave of absence from CatCo, leaving James to run the company in her stead. In season three, she became the White House Press Secretary for President Olivia Marsdin.
* Chris Wood as Mon-El:
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.[25][26][27]
* Floriana Lima as Maggie Sawyer:
A detective for the National City Police Department who takes a special interest in the cases involving aliens and metahumans.[28] 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.[29]
* Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor:[30]
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.[31] 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 strong friendship. Camille Marty portrays a young Lena.[32]
* Odette Annable as Samantha Arias / Reign:
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.[33][34]
* Jesse Rath as Querl "Brainy" Dox / Brainiac 5:
A half-A.I., half-organic 12th-level intellect and member of the Legion of Superheroes from the planet Colu in the 31st Century.[35]
* Sam Witwer as Benjamin Lockwood / Agent Liberty:
The brilliant, ruthless, and terrifying founder and figurehead of Children of Liberty, a human-supremacist hate group that supports a human-first world order.[36]
* Nicole Maines as Nia Nal / Dreamer:
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.[37]
* April Parker Jones as Colonel Lauren Haley:
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.[37]

## Seasons

* Season 1 (2015-2016)
* Season 2 (2016-2017)
* Season 3 (2017-2018)
* Season 4 (2018-2019)
* Season 5 (2019-2020)
* Season 6 (2021)