CBS has found the actress they want to portray Kara Zor-El in their Supergirl TV show. Melissa Benoist, best known for her roles in Glee and Whiplash, will play the titular character.
The show will follow Kara Zor-El — Superman's cousin — who escaped from Krypton amid the planet's destruction. She's been hiding her powers while on Earth, but at the age of 24, she's ready to be a hero and embrace her super powers. There was talk a couple of weeks ago of there being crossover episodes between Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl, since CW is co-owned by CBS and Warner Bros. Unfortunately, those rumors have been said to have no substance.
At the TCA Winter Press Tour presentation, CBS chair Nina Tassler said of the Supergirl project, "She embodied so many of the characteristics of classic female heroines on the network… We fell in love with the pitch."
While casting wasn't complete at the time, she had this to say about the type of actress they were looking for:
"She's got to be an every woman… I think back to having had the good fortune of being at Warner Bros. when we were doing Lois & Clark, the chemistry between Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher was really wonderful. So I think in this case, 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."
If you're wondering who designed the Supergirl costume, it's Colleen Atwood — the same person who did fantastic work for Stephen Amell's Arrow and Grant Grustin's Flash.
When CBS asked Melissa Benoist if she wanted the role, I imagine she responded something like this:
