‘Supergirl’ lands on fall schedule at CBS

By Bill Keveney | Gannett News Service

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a series order for “Supergirl.”

CBS on Wednesday picked up the superhero saga as a series for the fall schedule. It is one of many series orders that will be made in the next week as networks put together their fall lineups.

“Supergirl,” based on the DC Comics character, was widely expected to make the CBS schedule.

Melissa Benoist (“Glee”) will play the central character, Kara Zor-El, who escaped to Earth when her native planet, Krypton, was destroyed. Now 24 and possessing the same powers as her famous cousin, Superman, she decides to stop hiding her superhuman abilities and instead to embrace them, becoming “the hero she was always meant to be.”

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Calista Flockhart (“Ally McBeal,” “Brothers & Sisters”) will portray Cat Grant, “a self-made media mogul and founder of CatCo. Cat Grant started her career as a reporter and has built her company into a global powerhouse. Kara works at CatCo as her assistant.”

The cast also features Chyler Leigh as Alexandra “Alex” Danvers, Kara’s “confident foster sister,” whose fascination with Kara’s powers inspires her to become a bioengineer; Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen, “the former Daily Planet photographer (who) is the new art director at CatCo;” and David Harewood as Hank Henshaw, “a onetime CIA agent (who) now runs the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO).”

Supergirl features Northwestern alum Greg Berlanti, an executive producer of CW’s successful “Arrow” and “The Flash,” in that same behind-the-scenes role, where he will be joined by Ali Adler, Sarah Schechter and Andrew Kreisberg.