CBS, Mondays, 8 p.m.
CBS’s Supergirl is based on Superman’s cousin’s heroic adventures in Los Angeles-like National City. Avoiding the darkness of the DC heroes’ films, Supergirl, like The Flash, is bright and cheery, positive and inspiring. As Kara Danvers and Supergirl, the titular Kryptonian refugee who becomes super-powered under the Earth’s yellow sun, Melissa Benoist is delightfully sweet, eager and Clark Kent-ish in both her clumsiness and her employment at a newspaper. Her boss is Cat Grant, played nearly as a Miranda Priestly imitation by a delightfully nasty Calista Flockhart, and James (nee Jimmy) Olson is there to keep an eye on her for Superman. The cast is rounded out by Chyler Leigh as Kara’s secret agent adoptive sister Alex and Jeremy Jordan as Kara’s love-struck best friend. The premiere was fun, thrilling and surprisingly progressive for a genre that has had trouble dealing with female heroes.
