Mehcad Brooks (“Eggs” from True Blood) has been cast as Jimmy Olsen in the upcoming CBS series Supergirl. Olsen will serve as a love interest for the titular character, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
That’s right, CBS is creating a Supergirl series!! With so much Marvel television, and other spec-fic movie news, I completely missed it until reading this announcement.
The series follows Kara Zor-El, cousin of Superman, who also escaped the destruction of their homeworld Krypton.
Kara (played by Glee and Whiplash breakout Melissa Benoist) was raised by a foster family on earth, who taught her to hide her super powers. Now 24, an unexpected disaster forces her to use her extraordinary abilities in public and Kara begins embracing her powers to help the people of her city.
Kara meets Jimmy Olsen at CatCo., where they both work (he’s a photographer, naturally). She is attracted to his salt of the earth demeanor and rugged good looks. Olsen has recently been living and working in National City for (at least for now) unknown reasons and the two grow closer as her powers are revealed.
I’m not really a comic book guy, so I didn’t know the traditional origin story of Supergirl, but I’m guessing most fans will immediately recognize this as a huge departure from comic book canon. Here’s a synopsis from Screen Rant:
The continuity changes and reboots Supergirl has undergone since her introduction in 1959 have led to a variety of versions, but most in the modern age have stuck to a short list of details. Kara Zor-El was a teenager when her cousin, Kal, was sent to Earth by his Kryptonian parents. Kara managed to escape as well, but for one reason or another, arrived on Earth years behind, finding Kal a full-grown man (and superhero).
It then falls to Kal to help his cousin control her newfound powers until she can adopt a ‘Super’ mantle of her own -and a secret identity along with it (a story played out on Smallville already). But going by the apparent synopsis, that isn’t part of the new show’s identity at all.
None of the details coming out so far make mention of Superman taking any part in this new series.