Some shows know exactly what they are and want to continue to be from the first moments. However, a large percentage of shows tweak characters, tones and formats throughout their first couple of seasons. Now in its first year, Supergirl has gone through some growing pains through its first few episodes, but following a big reveal just before its winter hiatus, the DC Comics-oriented series has started to work some of the kinks out. Still, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, who also works on the CW’s Flash and Arrow, says he knows Supergirl has had some problems. Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview:
Arrow took a while to find itself. Arrow needed Felicity which it didn’t have early on, and it had voiceover, which it didn’t need. Whereas The Flash came out like The Flash — you can watch the pilot and the finale back to back and it’s the same show. Supergirl was one of those shows that had a learning curve on how to make it and how to tell the stories and the audience’s part on how to watch it.
Although Supergirl saw crazy huge ratings during its premiere, a lot of people didn’t stick with the series in the weeks after. I personally felt like the pilot was almost a little forced, as the CBS drama told all of Kara Danvers’ backstory before hopping ahead to the future, putting Supergirl in a costume and moving forward with the case of the week format. It almost felt like two episodes instead of one, but then as Supergirl moved forward, it started figuring out, implementing a little more humor and making Kara’s life—and especially her relationship with her sister--a little more relatable. (Brief spoilers) By the time we got to the big Martian Manhunter twist, Supergirl had really started to find its rhythm.
Andrew Kreisberg also told EW that once the team started telling the stories they wanted to make, Supergirl started to be a better TV project.
I think it’s taken a while to shake out. Once we stopped trying to make the show to be everything for everybody else and just started telling stories we wanted to tell with these amazing actors, the show has become a lot easier to make.
It’s also started to attract new viewers. After seeing a ratings drop through its first few weeks, the series leveled out for a while before beginning to pick up again just before the break. Hopefully, as Supergirl moves forward, it will continue to find ways to attract new audience members. We’ll keep you updated every step of the way.
Supergirl has already returned from its winter hiatus. You can catch new episodes on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET, only on CBS. To find out when the rest of your winter favorites are returning, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule.
Photo courtesy of CBS.
