Supergirl executive producer Sarah Schechter teased what fans can expect from season two of the comic book-inspired series while doing press roundtables at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con. Schechter wouldn’t give away specifics or spoilers, but did provide a little info into the reasoning behind bringing in Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and how that affects Kara (played by Melissa Benoist). Schechter also revealed her favorite season one episode and what it’s been like to add Lynda Carter to the cast of season two in the role of the President of the United States.
Supergirl season two will premiere on October 10, 2016 on The CW.
Sarah Schechter Interview:
What can you say about Lynda Carter’s arc in season two?
Sarah Schechter: “Lynda Carter’s amazing and her role as Wonder Woman was for a long time the only female hero that a generation of people had to look to. And so we want to honor that even as we expand the idea of what a female superhero can be. But, I think there’s going to be some very surprising turns. I think people are going to be really excited. She has some fun stuff to do.”
Did you know what was in the pod when you wrote it, or did you take all summer to think about it?
Sarah Schechter: “No, we knew and then we had all summer to cast it. That’s what we needed the time to do. We did, and we’re really excited. What’s in the spaceship will also help us a lot in terms of Kara’s journey in season two. Her coming to terms with can she have it all and her defining what she wants her life to be. That’s going to be a lot of fun.
And then we have Ian Gomez from Felicity who’s joining us as sort of like a Lou Grant, kind of like the Michael Keaton in Spotlight part. That’s going to be a lot of fun. And then we have some people switching jobs, which I think is going to be really great fun too.”
Does that take a little focus off of Cat?
Sarah Schechter: “No. He’s playing Snapper Carr who works with Cat. There’s still CatCo. But Winn becomes more involved with the DEO which means we get more scenes of David Harewood and Jeremy Jordan together which is, to me, endlessly entertaining. Nobody annoys Hank Henshaw more than Winn Schott does, so that’s just good fun.”
Bringing Superman into the show in the early episodes, will there be something set up where he can come back in later episodes?
Sarah Schechter: “Yeah. I mean, we’re not killing Superman. We like him a lot. Part of it was in season one we really wanted to just establish Kara. But a lot of what we do on these shows is comedy, action, drama, and family. And, it’s a family you’re given and it’s a family you choose. Kara had to really choose a family and build a family here, but Clark is the one part of her family that’s still alive now that Laura Benanti is playing Melania Trump. And so it’s a way to learn more about Kara. Tyler (Hoechlin) is amazing.”
How excited are you to have had the show make the transition to The CW?
Sarah Schechter: “It’s so much fun. It’s like when you’re a little kid and you have a Superman toy and a G.I. Joe, they would play together. And by all being on the same network and in the same city, it makes it easier for us to do that. There’s just something great about…you know, when you would see Cisco on Arrow, there’s just endless permutations that are so much fun because we really love these characters and we’re hoping that the audience does too.”
Has it made it more difficult coordinating the shows since you’re all in a shared universe?
Sarah Schechter: “We had Flash and Supergirl last year, and we still have to explain the universe changes – which we do. I think the thing that’s hard about it is Melissa, Grant (Gustin), and Stephen (Amell), they work so hard. They work every day, and so the hard part is when Stephen is on Flash or Grant is on Supergirl, that means they’re not on…we don’t shut down the other shows. Luckily we have a deep bench of very talented actors, but the writers just have to plan for that in such a big way. I mean, the shows are named after the characters and so that’s the thing that’s the logistical challenge.”
What was your favorite episode from season one?
Sarah Schechter: “Oh man, that’s really hard. I’m really proud of the pilot but I also really love the Black Mercy episode. I think that was probably my favorite. That was something that Andrew (Kreisberg) wanted to do from the very beginning. I love it. I think it gives you a taste of how deep and complicated and interesting the show’s going to be this year.”
Watch the full Sarah Schechter interview:
(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
