With the TCA’s coming up and our DCTV shows coming back in the fall, we got to talk a little bit with the cast and creator of Supergirl about the move to the CW and what we can look forward to in season two with Kara’s new job, what we’ll see of Superman, and who was in the pod that crashed at the end of the season.
Executive producer Sarah Schechter sat down with us for a little bit at San Diego Comic Con last month to talk a little bit about who would be in the pod. It doesn’t seem like it’ll take us long before we find out who exactly is in the pod, but it will take longer to find out what the person’s motivations and backstory is. This will unfold as Kara discovers the story alongside the audience.
With the upgrade from Cat’s assistant, Kara is “moving up in the world”. Although Cat will still be on the show and she’ll still be around, we’ll see less of her moving forward given Kara’s new job. Don’t be too sad though, after the success of the crossover with The Flash last season, Supergirl will be joining the other DCTV shows in their four night crossover.
Schechter gushes that the cross over will be major, “We are planning it in a way tht it will be an incredible week for fans. It’s a logistical nightmare, but much easier now that Supergirl is up in Vancouver.” Part of the fun of the crossovers is getting to mix all of the characters from different stories together, and we can all agree that it’s fun seeing what happens when the Flash crosses over to National City.
With the second season premiering in the Fall we also have the debut of Superman on screen with Supergirl in the show. Schechter emphasized that keeping Superman out of the show in the first season wasn’t about stepping on the movie universe’s toes or worrying about involving a character like Superman, it was out of deference for Supergirl and establishing Kara’s strength in the show. Now that they have done that within the universe, they can begin to expand. “It’s so clearly her show. She’s so clearly equal to Superman that now we felt like we could bring him in.”
Speaking of Superman, the cast brought Tyler Hoechlin, Teen Wolf alumni and newly casted Superman, with them to the Con and we got to talk a little about his transformation into the man of steel. Hoechlin couldn’t give us much about his role, seeing as they had just started shooting and he hadn’t even put on the suit at the time we spoke to him, but it looks like he’s fitting into it just fine.
Hoechlin approached the role in an organic way, simply by trying to find out who Superman/Clark Kent is and what makes him tick. He describes looking at the suit as “the suit he wears to work” and talks more about what Superman might represent.
It seems that his ideas of who Superman is and Greg Berlanti’s ideas seem to be on the same path. Hoechlin talks about the surprisingly easy experience he had in getting casted for the role. He and Berlanti hit it off with common ideas about the character and his interpretation of the role.
His Superman, in many ways, is very different from the one we’ve seen from the DC film universe. Hoechlin talked a little bit about the difference in tone from the television show to the film. Supergirl is a lighter show, highlighting hope versus a grittier and darker world that Batman vs Superman has painted. It doesn’t sound like we’ll be getting Hoechlin’s Superman confused with Henry Cavill’s any time soon.
Despite the excitement and buzz around his casting, Hoechlin admits that the experience is still surreal to him, saying, “it still hasn’t fully sunk in yet.” But looking at that recent photo of him with Stephen Amell, after he’s gotten a chance to shoot in the suit, it looks like he’s getting settled in fine.
With season one under her belt, Melissa Benoist sat down to talk about her excitement for season two. She describes the first season as Kara’s coming out party, the time when she could establish herself as Supergirl. “She’s built a solid base for herself that now it’s really time for her to mature.” Kara’s going to be juggling a lot of new things come the second season, specifically her personal life, her new job, her love life, and top that all off with her duties as Supergirl.
However this doesn’t seem to weigh down Benoist’s hopes for her character. She beams that she loves when Kara overcomes obstacles, and although her story is innately dark with a traumatic past, what is beautiful is the way she overcomes and the way she always finds a silver lining.
It’s undeniable to viewers that there’s something effervescent about Benoist’s Kara Danvers. The actress herself notes that it’s important and essential for the character to stand up for something good, that she inspires hope, bravery, and to never give up.
In regards to the rest of the DCTV universe she just joined after the switch to The CW, she praises everyone for being so welcoming, adding that “it doesn’t make sense that we weren’t there before.” The changes haven’t been massive, but we might see a little bit more comic book flare befitting to the network.
And after an electric crossover with The Flash last year, when asked about who she might like to cross paths with during this years crossover the actress replied, “I’m excited to work with Black Canary if I get the chance.”
Since establishing his version of Jimmy Olsen on Supergirl, Mechad Brooks has made a mark for himself with this cornerstone character within the show. Brooks was full of energy coming into the convention, and heartily jumped into conversation about his character. After seeing a full season of Brooks’ Jimmy Olsen, he shrugs off any hate he might get from playing the character, saying “I love the fact that you hate me, I love the fact that you love me,” and that “the haters gon’ hate.”
No matter what the naysayers might say, Brooks approached the character very organically. Any research was null and void, because when he asked the producers who the character was their reply was simple: He’s you. It wasn’t about him being black or any previous interpretation of the character, they told him, “Whoever you want to make him, he’s you. We hired you because we see facets of Jimmy Olsen in you.”
As far as Jimmy’s relationship with Kara, it seems to still be in flux. Brooks mentioned that while Kara has found who she is as Supergirl, she’s still finding her footing when it comes to being a young lady. Their relationship doesn’t seem to be smooth sailing yet.
And although there is no lack of superpowers when Supergirl is around, the show also revealed David Harewood’s Hank Henshaw was actually Martian Manhunter aka J’onn J’onzz. Donned in his Superman shirt, Harewood talked a little bit about how J’onn would have to come to terms with the fact that his secret identity has been revealed.
He also teased a little of what we would see in the second season since the switch over to the CW. Harewood talked about the change in networks feeling like a better fit and that the scripts feel more ‘comic-booky’. He gave a little teaser about a scene in the second episode in which J’onn, Kara, and Superman team up together to fight an enemy together. It already sounds like it’s going to be awesome!
And in talks about his research for J’onn and the character, Harewood references the comic books. It gave him insight into J’onn’s character and his loneliness and isolation. Martian Manhunter is the last of his kind, and Harewood said that juxtaposing that isolation with his connection to family and being a surrogate father to both Alex and Kara helped him get into the headspace for the character.
And of course there’s the fabulous Chyler Leigh, who plays the original character of Alex Danvers, Kara’s adoptive older sister. Alex’s story has been a rollercoaster, from killing Astra to finding out the truth about her father, she’s been through a whole spectrum of emotion since the beginning.
However despite the drama and the tension after the revelation of her hand in Astra’s death, Leigh emphasizes Alex and Kara’s bond. You can’t erase Alex’s actions, but “they’re sisters. It’s always family first.”
The big mission this season for Alex and J’onn will be to try and figure out how deep the rabbit hole goes with Project Cadmus. Outside of the mission, we’ll also see more about Alex’s personal life and where she came from, and what her life is like outside of work.
We’re excited to see where the plot will go with Jeremiah Danvers and what really became of him. Leigh jokingly mentions the hashtag #DaddyDanversAintDead in conjunction to the mission of the season for Alex and we’re hoping it’s go some truth to it!
It sounds like season two will have a breath of new life after the move to The CW, and with more casting news about Katie McGrath’s Lena Luthor season 2 is shaping up to be a doozy. Make sure to catch season 2 of Supergirl on The CW on Monday, October 2 at 8/7c.
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