Supergirl (season 4)
Supergirl (season 4) | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 2 |
| Release | |
| Original network | The CW |
| Original release | October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14) – present (present) |
| Season chronology | |
The fourth season of the American television series Supergirl, which is based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, premiered on The CW on October 14, 2018. The season follows Kara, a reporter and superpowered alien who fights against those who threaten Earth, and the fallout of her use of mysticism and time traveling. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe. The season is produced by Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment, with Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller serving as showrunners.
The season was ordered in April 2018, and production began that July. Melissa Benoist stars as Kara, with principal cast members Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, David Harewood, and Katie McGrath also returning from previous seasons, while Jesse Rath was promoted to the principal cast from his recurring status in season three. They are joined by Sam Witwer, Nicole Maines, and April Parker Jones.
Contents
1 Episodes
2 Cast and characters
2.1 Main
2.2 Recurring
2.3 Guest
3 Production
3.1 Development
3.2 Writing
3.3 Casting
3.4 Filming
3.5 Arrowverse tie-ins
4 Release
4.1 Broadcast
4.2 Marketing
5 Reception
5.1 Critical
5.2 Ratings
6 References
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | 1 | "American Alien" | Jesse Warn | Story by : Robert Rovner & Jessica Queller Teleplay by : Gabriel Llanas & Aadrita Mukerji | October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14) | T13.21201 | 1.52[1] |
Kara has stayed busy in her heroic duties working with the DEO, and as a reporter at CatCo proving she can multitask. Brother and sister Otis & Mercy Graves attack an alien, Dr. Vose, and steal an EMP device from his lab. J'onn believes it to be a hate crime, with the recent rise in anti alien hatred in the country, although Kara disagrees. The duo plan to attack President Marsdin's summit to mark the anniversary of her amnesty act. Supergirl saves the President and captures Otis, but Mercy escapes. Camera footage of the attack ends up exposing the President's true identity as an alien. Meanwhile Alex and Brainy struggle to communicate with each other at the DEO. The Graves are working with a mysterious individual who says he is an "agent of liberty" as he kills a telepath that J'onn had met in a support group for other aliens. The duplicate Kara is seen punching through walls in an underground cavern surrounded by Kasnian soldiers. | |||||||
| 67 | 2 | "Fallout" | Harry Jierjian | Story by : Dana Horgan Teleplay by : Maria Maggenti & Daniel Beaty | October 21, 2018 (2018-10-21) | T13.21202 | 1.34[2] |
In the wake of President Marsdin's outing as an alien, a wave of anti-alien sentiment infects the country, which proves particularly troubling when Mercy hacks L-Corps' image inducers in an effort to force aliens out of hiding. When Brainy is outed, he is rattled by the hatred he faces from the public. Meanwhile, J'onn continues to investigate a friend's disappearance and the trail leads him to Agent Liberty and Nia convinces James to write an editorial against anti-alien hatred. | |||||||
| 68 | 3 | "Man of Steel"[3] | Jesse Warn | Rob Wright & Derek Simon | October 28, 2018 (2018-10-28) | TBA | TBD |
| 69 | 4 | "Ahimsa"[4] | Armen V. Kevorkian | Story by : Eric Carrasco Teleplay by : Katie Rose Rogers & Jess Kardos | November 4, 2018 (2018-11-04) | TBA | TBD |
| 70 | 5 | "Parasite Lost"[5] | David McWhirter | Maria Maggenti & Aadrita Mukerji | November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11) | TBA | TBD |
Kevin Smith directed the eighth episode of the season, which was co-written by Eric Carrasco.[6] The ninth episode will be part of the "Elseworlds" crossover event, and air on December 11, 2018.[7]
Cast and characters
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Main
Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El / Supergirl
Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen
Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers
Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor
Jesse Rath as Querl "Brainy" Dox / Brainiac 5
Sam Witwer as Ben Lockwood / Agent Liberty
Nicole Maines as Nia Nal / Dreamer
April Parker Jones as Colonel Lauren Haley[8]
David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter
Recurring
Rhona Mitra as Mercy Graves[9]
Robert Baker as Otis Graves[9]
- Anthony Konechny as Agent Jensen[10]
Bruce Boxleitner as President Baker[11]
Jeremy Jordan as Winslow "Winn" Schott, Jr.
David Ajala as Manchester Black[12]
Azie Tesfai as Kelly Olsen[13]
Guest
Lynda Carter as President Olivia Marsdin[14]
Brenda Strong as Lillian Luthor[15]
Tiya Sircar as Fiona[16]
Vincent Gale as Dr. Vose- Cardi Wong as Kesse Kay
Andrea Brooks as Eve Teschmacher
Fulvio Cecere as Massimo
Tyler Hoechlin as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman[17]
Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane[18][19]
Xander Berkeley as Peter Lockwood[20]
Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow[21]
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash[21]
The character of Lex Luthor is also set to have a recurring role.[22]
Production
Development
At the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January 2018, The CW president Mark Pedowitz said he was "optimistic" and "confident" about Supergirl and the other Arrowverse shows returning next season, but added that it was too soon to announce anything just yet.[23] On April 2, The CW gave the series an early renewal for its fourth season.[24]Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller serve as the season's showrunners.[25]
Writing
Following the conclusion of the third season, which closed with a second Kara Danvers born from the aura that escaped during the final battle with Reign being found by Russian soldiers in Siberia, Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller confirmed that the fourth season would be inspired by the Superman: Red Son comic book mini-series. Queller described the adaptation as "an homage" to the series, which portrays what would have happened if Superman had landed in Russia and became a hero there instead of in America.[25] The story intends to examine the nature-versus-nurture debate, and will develop as a "slow-burn" throughout the season.[26]
At San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Rovner and Queller stated that the season would aim to be more "grounded" than previous seasons in order to touch on topical real-world issues.[27] They confirmed that the fourth season would look to refocus on Kara's professional career as a reporter and see her act as a mentor to Cat Grant’s former protégé, both at CatCo and as a superhero, paralleling Kara's own journey of coming into her own. The duo added that, "This is the season where Kara becomes as much a hero as Supergirl."[26][12] Teasing the main villain of the season, the producers described Agent Liberty as the leader of "a hate group that supports a human-first world order" and, under the guise of a family man, provokes "anti-alien sentiment in the country, echoing the hateful rhetoric we’re seeing right now in certain American politics."[28]
Rovner and Queller also announced that the theme of the season would be "What is stronger: hope or fear?"[26]Melissa Benoist commented that, "I think their main premise is that fear itself is a villain, and can hope conquer it? Supergirl stands for hope, so we'll see."[29] Queller concurred, adding that the season would investigate, "How can [Supergirl] be a beacon of hope when she represents what people are afraid of?"[27]
Casting
Main cast members Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, David Harewood, and Katie McGrath return from previous seasons as Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, James Olsen / Guardian, Alex Danvers, J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter, and Lena Luthor, respectively. The fourth season is the first not to feature original cast member Jeremy Jordan as a series regular. Jordan, who plays Winn Schott, will instead shift into a recurring capacity.[30]Chris Wood and Odette Annable, who became regulars in the second and third seasons, respectively, will not reprise their roles as Mon-El and Samantha Arias / Reign, respectively, as regulars in the fourth season.[31][32] On June 15, 2018, it was announced that Jesse Rath was promoted to a series regular after previously recurring in the third season as Querl "Brainy" Dox / Brainiac 5.[33] On July 17, it was reported that Sam Witwer had joined the main cast as Agent Liberty.[28] On July 21 at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Nicole Maines and April Parker Jones had been cast as series regulars and would portray Nia Nal / Dreamer and Colonel Lauren Haley, respectively, with the former to become the first transgender superhero on television.[34][12]
Brent Spiner was originally cast as Vice President Baker,[35] but the role was recast with Bruce Boxleitner due to Spiner having "family issues conflicting with the show's production dates."[11]
Filming
Production for the season began on July 11, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is set to conclude on April 15, 2019.[36] Melissa Benoist joined filming following the conclusion of her run on Broadway as the star of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on August 4, 2018.[37]
Arrowverse tie-ins
In May 2018, Arrow star Stephen Amell announced at The CW upfronts that the next Arrowverse crossover would feature Batwoman and Gotham City. The crossover, "Elseworlds", is slated to air in December 2018, ahead of a potential 2019 solo series for the character.[38][39][7]
Release
Broadcast
In May 2018, it was announced that Supergirl, which had aired on Mondays since its debut, would move to Sundays for its fourth season due to The CW's programming expansion to Sunday nights.[40] The season premiered on The CW in the United States on October 14, 2018.[41] The annual crossover episode will swap time-slots with The Flash for that week and will air on Tuesday, December 11.[42]
Marketing
The main cast of the season as well as executive producers Robert Rovner, Jessica Queller, and Sarah Schechter attended San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2018 to promote the season.[43]
Reception
Critical
The season holds a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews.[44]
Delia Harrington of Den of Geek gave the premiere a rating of 4/5, writing: "The Supergirl season 4 opener sows the seeds of a season’s worth of conflict while being a great episode in its own right."[45]IGN’s Jesse Schedeen said of the premiere that, "After a disappointing finish to a generally underwhelming Season 3, it's good to see Supergirl quickly bouncing back this week. 'American Alien' sets the stage for a promising conflict to come, introducing memorable new villains and supporting characters and forcing Kara to confront the things she can't control in her city. Supergirl is borrowing several pages from the X-Men playbook, and that's by no means a bad thing." He gave the episode a rating of 8.6/10, concluding that, "Supergirl’s fourth season is off to a promising start thanks to an eventful and dramatic premiere episode."[46]
Ratings
No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "American Alien" | October 14, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.52[1] | 0.4 | 1.14 | 0.9 | 2.66[47] |
| 2 | "Fallout" | October 21, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.34[2] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
References
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