ABC has their Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, Fox has the villains of Gotham, The CW has The Flash and Arrow, and most recently NBC has been laying the groundwork to revive Heroes. So it was only a matter of time until CBS bought a one way ticket on the superhero gravy train. Today, the network unleashed the first trailer for Supergirl in a very long form introduction with over six minutes of footage from the series. Starring Glee’s Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El, you can watch the video after the break.

What’s shown in the preview is practically the entire pilot all laid out, I assume. I can’t say I have any allegiance toward DC Comics or the character of Supergirl, but I can tell by the tone of this pilot that some DC fans will not be tuning in to catch this bubbly version of Superman’s cousin. Supergirl feels sort of like The Devil Wears Prada meets The Flash in a world where Superman already exists. In a way this perspective from Kara is kind of refreshing. However, at the same time, this seems very off character and could piss off a lot of people.

After the praise, and now renewed Agent Carter, there is more than enough viewers out there who’d like more female-driven superhero shows. CBS is definitely trying to tap into the ABC Family/CW audience demographics through a more “girl power” approach. And that’s fine as long as the story of Kara can mature past generic content previewed in the video above. The trailer almost reaches SNL parody levels of cheese. It’s definitely a unique take on the character and for a superhero series in general, that’s for sure. In an age of multi-layered heroes, I hope there is more to her than just being able to “let it go” and become the woman she wants to be because that’s getting a bit overplayed.

Kara was only a side character on The CW’s Smallville, portrayed by Laura Vandervoort, but there is a ton of lore to pull from the comics that many hope to see.

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Here’s the official plot synopsis for Supergirl, courtesy of CBS:

Supergirl is an action-adventure drama based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), Superman’s (Kal-El) cousin who, after 12 years of keeping her powers a secret on Earth, decides to finally embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be. Twelve-year-old Kara escaped the doomed planet Krypton with her parents’ help at the same time as the infant Kal-El. Protected and raised on Earth by her foster family, the Danvers, Kara grew up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex, and learned to conceal the phenomenal powers she shares with her famous cousin in order to keep her identity a secret. Years later at 24, Kara lives in National City assisting media mogul and fierce taskmaster Cat Grant, who just hired the Daily Planet’s former photographer, James Olsen, as her new art director. However, Kara’s days of keeping her talents a secret are over when Hank Henshaw, head of a super-secret agency where her sister also works, enlists her to help them protect the citizens of National City from sinister threats. Though Kara will need to find a way to manage her newfound empowerment with her very human relationships, her heart soars as she takes to the skies as Supergirl to fight crime.

Executive produced and written by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, CBS’ Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Calista Flockhart, David Harewood, Chyler Leigh, and Laura Benanti. The series is set to premiere this November.

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Source: CBS