The news broke yesterday on multiple sources (like Variety) that the Supergirl show is ending after the sixth season.
This sounds like it was a mutual decision between The CW and Warner Brothers and Berlanti productions.
And my guess is this is multifactorial.
Certainly some of the stars contracts must be nearing an end. Melissa Benoist seems poised to be a mega-star everywhere and so now might be the time for her to get off the serial television schedule and rocketship herself to new endeavors.
Benoist on Instagram had a lovely statement where she discussed how much she has enjoyed playing Kara, the impact it has had on young girls, and how she was glad the show will end on its own terms.
As you can imagine, I am processing this news.
The show has been a delight for me, bringing my favorite character to millions of eyes and introducing her to folks who didn't even know she exists. Melissa Benoist has been a supernove, embodying the core traits of Supergirl in a way I didn't think possible. The new characters of Alex, Nia, and Winn were revelations. And the show did its best to inject Supergirl mythos like Psi and Reactron into the mix. Heck, we got a live action Legion!
So I am very sad that the show is ending. I couldn't have asked for a better representation of Supergirl in regards to Benoist.
And it is sad because I know that from week to week I might think that Supergirl was lost in her own show, a part of the ensemble rather than the star. Some episodes it seemed we barely saw her. I know that all the CW superhero shows are ensembles but there is never any doubt that The Flash and Arrow were the stars.
Also, I have to say that at times the stories weren't stellar. At times it felt like the agenda drove the story and not the other way around.
All that said, if you asked me 6 years ago if I ever thought that I would be a Supergirl live action show at all, let alone one with this quality, I would have said you were high. And if you said someone would embody Supergirl as much as Benoist has, I'd also say you weren't grounded in reality.
I really hope that this last season crushes it. I'd love to see this end on a spectacular high note. And, of course, there is an easy way for this thing to end without crippling the Arrowverse. She heads to the future and the Legion.
But I wonder if this is it for live action Supergirl. Will someone 10 years from now think the world needs a reboot?
14 comments:
I think Melissa Benoist is to Supergirl what Christopher Reeves was to Superman: totally embodied the character. Uplifting, cheerful, strong, and so much more. REALLY hope they don't kill her off. NO reason she can't appear on other shows.
I'm currently catching up on season 5 by watching the episodes on DVD. I had to smile when Hartlepool got a mention - Hartlepool is no more than an hour's drive from where I live!
I'll miss the show too, but 6 seasons is a good run. The original Star Trek only lasted 3 seasons and Land of the Giants (a big favourite of mine from the same era) only lasted 2.
I'm sad to see it go, but six seasons is a good run. Though I really hope they don't go for a heroic death, and I hope they don't send her into the future. Partly, they've done that A LOT in different media. Also, with the Superman show on the way, IDK but I can't help but get this feeling that, there's this unspoken assumption, 'oh we've got Superman now, we don't need you Kara.' Plus, if she did go to the future, feel like she'd be leaving a lot of people who care about her ie Alex behind.
I could be reading too much into it, but I'd rather they ended on a note that Kara's adventures are continuing in National City, we're just not following every week now.
I'll always be grateful to MB, she was Supergirl's TV "Proof of Concept" her success with the role will make it that much easier for the next girl in the next project to inhabit the role of Kara Zor El. But then I'd always predicted that if you put Supergirl down into a TV series with some muscle behind it, she'd thrive as a character, she was made for TV from 1959 on down. I'll miss this show when its gone, I tried as much as possible to watch it in "real time" weekly....I frankly figured at one point we'd be lucky if it lasted three years and 75 episodes, but they've managed to double that pessimistic projection on my part.
MB owes us nothing, she has a husband and a kid now, commuting to Vancouver for the next 2 years probably was never in the cards, she hit a home run with Supergirl, we can ask no more of her.
JLG
"Also, with the Superman show on the way, IDK but I can't help but get this feeling that, there's this unspoken assumption, 'oh we've got Superman now, we don't need you Kara.'"
It's rather easy for one to think this, but the corporate reasoning in this case gets a bit more murky. Because the scenario that seems to have unfolded here is a bit of a repeat of how Supergirl got moved off of CBS after one season....in effect, it's because of a shuffling of the suits at the executive level.
Nina Tassler was the programming exec that originally ordered and shepherded the Supergirl TV series to its premiere on the Eye network. But then, shortly after the premiere, she left the company. The show then became an orphan piece of programming that Tassler's replacement(s) at the net really didn't want to be responsible for....which is why the net took so long to eventually decide to offer it to The CW. Luckily, at The CW, there were already creative types in place who knew how to nurture and market superhero fare.
Susan Rovner leaving WB-TV next month for a top position at NBCUniversal is sort of a repeat scenario of the programming shuffle that happened in the wake of Supergirl's first season. Her abrupt exit is apparently having a ripple effect, as industry insiders had widely assumed that Susan would be next in line for Peter Roth's job at WB-TV. But that's not happening now, and the company is still scrambling to reposition itself in the midst of a organization change that was already occurring when she made her plans known earlier this month.
Since Susan Rovner was responsible for a lot of programming initiatives at WB-TV (including Supergirl, which her hubby Robert has been shepherding since Season One), there was bound to be some fallout from her departure.
KET
Having a 6th and final season gives an opportunity for a proper ending. Schedules permitting, it would be nice to see appearances by Mehcad Brooks, Jeremy Jordan and other former cast members. I'd also like to see another Midvale show before the end. And hopefully the door will be open for Melissa to show up as Supergirl on the new Lois and Superman show.
The show isn't perfect (what is?) but it did make Supergirl more visible to the general public. Thanks to the show, we even got new Supergirl material from Sterling Gates-the Mxyzptlk episode and that 4 issue mini series.
Six seasons is great, off you go Melissa, with my thanks! I’m also in the camp that says just stop the show without giving the character a conclusion - let Supergirl still be fighting crime in National City. It’s not like the other shows are likely to be around more than a few more years.
I’ve enjoyed the character of Supergirl often, but the teen angst, the fact characters are so emotionally dense a lot of the time, for the sale of drama... I won’t miss that. I agree there’s too much of the other characters - J’onn should have left a couple of years back when he got the detective agency, and I get tired of Alex’s love life. But I love Lena and Eve and Eliza and Winn... loads of great characters. We are indeed lucky to have had a quality show for so long.
And a PS to John from England, I come from about an hour’s drive from Hartlepool too - Seaham, and I was born near Peterlee. Fascinating, I know!
No, the show was FAR from perfect, and the writing was often uneven and heavy handed, but Melissa Benoist's earnest performance throughout the entire series brought Supergirl - and perhaps more importantly, Kara Danvers - to life, and she treated the character with all the respect Supergirl deserves.
I think the show's greatest contribution to the Arrowverse, and to the DC mythos, itself was Jon Cryer's tour-de-force performance as the DEFINITIVE Lex Luthor. It was completely unexpected, but his pitch perfect interpretation of this iconic super villain was a revelation!
The good news is, Ms Benoist wasn't the first Supergirl, and hopefully, she won't be the last.
This just clears the way for "SUPERGIRL: The MOVIE."
"Supergirl, The Movie" just as soon as DCEU can find some hack that'll spend a billion dollars to ruin the character...
:)
I say spin Supergirl off into an animated series, DC has way better luck with cartoons, she could be "big, I mean Ben-10 BIG!"
:)
JF
Thank everyone for comments here.
I'd love ... LOVE ... a Supergirl solo animated show.
I hope everyone gets a send-off. I don't want things to end in a Crisis #7 way.
I truly appreciate everyone for giving me their thoughts.
Getting rough to be a fan of powerful women at DC. No Supergirl comic, Batgirl comic is ending, Harley Quinn comic is done, now Supergirl is leaving the airwaves. sigh. I guess we'll still have Stargirl and Harley Quinn season 3 to look forward to.
I watched the show until the second season, after that I couldn’t follow it because although I like several moments the whole thing didn’t attract me
My only fear is Supergirl falling once more into oblivion, we have suffered from it several times in recent years .. despite the popularity of the character we know it is possible.
Hello from a french fan of supergirl,
A message very late, thanks you Anj.
It(s difficult to see supergirl in frand and thanks to your comments, i can follow the news.
I hope to see supergirl again in the others series, especially in the superman and lois.
Sorry I did not comment on this earlier but here are my thoughts , I'm sad Supergirl is ending with Season 6 but it had a great run and looking forward to how it ends. Unlike some fans I actually like Supergirl been a huge supporter of the show since Season 1 Episode 1 The Pilot. I have not always liked the writing on the show but it is what it is. My favorite Seasons of Supergirl are Seasons 1 and 2 but did not like Season 3 and the 1st half of Season 4 , the back half of Season 4 was good once Lex Luthor came on the show and Season 5 was just ok. I've always like the cast including Melissa Benoist as Supergirl / Kara Zor-EL (Kara Danvers) they may not always get the best material to write with but they always do the best the can in the roles. Yes the way Supergirl sometimes handle Superman on the show not always the best but did love their team up at the beginning of Season 2 and love Tyler and Melissa as Clark and Kara. Hope someday Supergirl does make a guest appearance on Superman & Lois. Those are my thoughts on Supergirl and can't wait for the final season !!!
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