Mehcad Brooks plays Jimmy Olsen in CBS’ upcoming new “Supergirl” series, starring opposite Melissa Benoist’s Kara Zor-El – aka, Supergirl, aka Superman’s cousin, who also escaped Krypton before it was destroyed, for planet earth. She shares her cousin’s superhuman abilities too.
In the comics, James “Jimmy” Olsen is a young photographer who works with Clark Kent and Lois Lane at the Daily Planet. And, as far as my research tells me, he’s always been white, so you know what this casting of Brooks means to all the racist fanboy and girl comic book geeks. After all, we’ve been here several times before, in recent years.
By the way, Olsen, in this series, is also a potential love interest for Supergirl.
According to DC Entertainment and Warner Bros., this live-action Supergirl TV series will feature a James Olsen who is described as a photographer at CatCo, a media company where Kara works. He has recently been living and working in National City, though the reason is still a secret.
Also, British actor David Harewood (most will remember him from “Homeland”) is another key cast member, playing Hank Henshaw – a character that’s actually a super villain in the DC Comics universe, but in this series, the character is a CIA agent who is the head of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO), who goes on high alert when Supergirl reveals herself, worried that her otherworldly abilities pose a threat to humankind. So he is probably still a villain, just not “super evil.”
“Supergirl” is written and executive produced by Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash”) and Ali Adler (“Chuck,” “Glee”), with Sarah Schechter (“Pan”) also executive producing. She joins several other comic book superheroes on the small and big screens; specifically, under the DC label, there’s “Gotham” at Fox, which follows Batman universe characters; as well as the aforementioned “Arrow” and “The Flash” which are both on the CW. There’s “Constantine” on NBC, and a few others that are on the way.
CBS has set a Monday 8PM slot for the new series, which will go directly up against “Gotham” on Fox – itself also a DC Comics series.
Source: Shadow & Act
