Now that CBS is speeding towards having its very own Supergirl TV series, the network has decided it may need a few other women on the show besides Melissa Benoist’s titular hero. Having already locked down the way more important positions of the hunky romantic interest and Supergirl’s mom, the show has now moved to sign up Calista Flockhart in the crucial role of “not Supergirl.”
Flockhart will be playing Cat Grant, boss to Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Supergirl. She is described as a “self-made media magnate and founder of CatCo who started her career as a reporter and has built her company into a global powerhouse.” All comparisons to Oprah will be left implicit, because Oprah does not care for jokes, and also because Oprah would never have deigned to be anything as plebeian as a reporter. Flockhart’s character will also likely be pulled into dealing with a murder or two, because this is CBS, and so as required by law, the show will be a procedural. Presumably, some additional Not-Supergirls will also be cast, because otherwise who will Supergirl eat ice cream with while fretting about how she just can’t seem to find a man?
The show reunites Flockhart with her former Brothers & Sisters showrunner Greg Berlanti, who is enjoying success as the go-to guy for launching small-screen superheroes. She has specifically mentioned Berlanti as being one of the reasons she joined the project, so it’s probable that she would’ve turned down the role had, say, her old boss David E. Kelley come calling. Which is for the best, as Kelley’s track record on superhero adaptations can be summed up as “hilariously ill-conceived.”