In recent years, more and more women with strong characters have been making their way to TV screens, such as "Scandal's" Olivia Pope and 'Agent Carter's Peggy Carter. But while characters such as Arrow and The Flash have firmly staked their spot in the superhero genre, next week, a female hero is about to make her debut on television, and it's none other than Supergirl.
"Supergirl" will make its premiere on CBS next week, and the show's titular character will be played by Melissa Benoist, The actress has made a big leap from being Marley—the shy girl with a great voice from "Glee"—to being the woman in the red cape. Speaking to Teen Vogue, Benoist said that she didn't realize how being television's newest heroine was so important to a lot of people.
"The moment before our panel at Comic Con, I was so nervous and had the biggest stage fright, which never happens to me," said the actress. "I think it hit me when I walked into that room with however many thousand people there were and had this realization that wow, this is new. This is a very rare and unique experience."
As Benoist joins the ranks of iconic TV heroines such as Sarah Michelle Gellar's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Linda Carter's "Wonder Woman," and Lucy Lawless's "Xena," all eyes will be on the star as she takes flight in the pilot episode on Monday. The actress said that young girls and women will find Kara Zor-el/ Supergirl to be relatable, as her character, just like other women, will be "juggling a lot of things in her life" such as her career, friendships, and other relationships.
"That's what makes her so relatable, that her life is so complicated that there are many facets to it," said Benoist. "What's important about it is how much good she's trying to spread and the power of her positivity and what she was sent to Earth to do and living up to that."
"Supergirl" premieres on Monday, Oct. 26 at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.
