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Four Reasons Why You Should Be Excited For CBS' 'Supergirl'

Supergirl, the Kryptonian superhero cousin to Superman, is getting her own show on CBS, which hasn’t seen a superhero show in 25 years.

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A fictional superhero that belongs to the DC Comics Universe, Supergirl’s real name is Kara Zor-El and hails from Krypton, the same home planet as her famous relative the Man of Steel.

With this news, there are a thousand reasons to be excited about the new show, but here are four definite ones.

 

1. SERIOUS ACTING & SERIOUS TALENT

First, searching for someone to play the lead role has not been an easy one for CBS, with expectations high to find an actress worthy of the part.

“She’s got to be specific,” Nina Tassler, Chairman of CBS Entertainment has said at TCA. “She’s got to be a terrific actor…it’s looking for someone who embodies both the freshness and the exuberance of being a young woman in today’s challenging climate and being someone who can carry this kind of series on her shoulders. It’s a big, big show.”

In the end, the network went with Melissa Benoist, whose coming fresh off of the show “Glee” and the Academy Award-nominated film “Whiplash.”

This also means that we're getting an actor with some serious acting chops, and who knows, maybe we'll get a musical episode of "Supergirl" one day.

In addition to Benoist, actor Mechad Brooks from “True Blood” has been cast to play James Olsen in the series, a young photojournalist in the DC Universe.

 

2. DC COMICS CROSSOVER POTENTIAL

Next, with Supergirl belonging to the same universe as The Flash and Green Arrow, the chances of a crossover between “Supergirl” on CBS and “The Flash” and “Arrow” on sister network The CW are extremely high.

Who doesn’t want to see a massive superhero mash-up on television; especially when the former two shows have done so well?

3. THE PERFECT STORY ARC

The official description of the new “Supergirl” show reads: “Born on the planet Krypton, Kara Zor-El escaped amid its destruction years ago. Since arriving on Earth, she’s been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be.”

CBS has stated the series will be a crime procedural, meaning we’ll probably see Supergirl picking off a bad guy each week, but combined with her backstory, CBS has stated that there will be some “serialized story elements.”

In other words, this could be the perfect mix of self-contained episodes that also manage to speak to a larger story arc; something television has been badly missing.

4. BETTER THAN SUPERGIRL THE MOVIE

Finally, this isn’t the first time Supergirl has been made into a viable form of media, but our fingers are crossed that this version of the super-powered heroine will be a far cry from the 1984 film “Supergirl” starring Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway. Just take a look below:

Supergirl (1984) Official Trailer - Helen Slater, Faye Dunaway, Peter O'Toole Superhero Movie HD by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers on YouTube

 

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Shawn Thomas writes Entertainment & Lifestyle content for CBS Local. Follow him on Twitter.

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