Calista Flockhart is returning to television as a series regular on CBS’ Supergirl.
Flockhart, of Ally McBeal and Brothers & Sisters fame, will play Cat Grant, a self-made media magnate and founder of CatCo. Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) works at CatCo as her assistant. Jimmy Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) also works at CatCo as a photographer. Cat started her career as a reporter and has built her company into a global powerhouse.
This role marks Flockhart’s first series regular role since five-season runs on Ally McBeal and Brothers & Sisters. She recently appeared in two episodes of Web Therapy and will be in season 2 of DirecTV’s anthology series Full Circle.
Flockhart also joins Laura Benanti (Nashville), who will play Kara’s birth mother, in the pilot’s cast.
Supergirl will follow the story of Kara Zor-El, who escaped her home planet Krypton’s “destruction years ago. Since arriving on Earth, she’s been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin, Superman,” the series synopsis reads.
“Now 24, Kara feels un-empowered, a slave to having repressed her innate abilities. She’s still pretty, but with her face hidden behind glasses and her hair pulled back, she doesn’t know it herself. An unexpected disaster forces her to use her powers in public. Energized by her heroic deed, for the first time in her life, Kara begins embracing her extraordinary abilities. She begins helping the people of her city and they soon take notice — and she’s even given a new moniker: Supergirl.”
Arrow and The Flash executive producer Greg Berlanti and No Ordinary Family‘s Ali Adler will write the script as well as executive produce alongside Sarah Schecter.
CBS has already given Supergirl a series commitment.