Stargirl Expands the DC Universe in a Surprising Direction

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionE-mail page to friendE-mail page to friendPDF versionPDF version
No votes yet

With the rapid expansion of DC’s television lineup, it can be easy to miss some of the new gems joining your old favorites. Now that Arrow has wrapped up and a new generation of young heroes is rising, it might be easy to miss the next off-beat, innovative show because the lineup has expanded beyond the CW into DC Universe.

Stargirl presents a unique 13-episode web series that was so stellar the CW couldn’t resist running the episodes the day after their debut on DC Universe. This has made the first season more accessible while providing the public support needed for a speedy renewal.

Now that Season 2 is a sure thing, fans who are late to the party have a strong incentive to catch up.

New Ideas in Superhero Drama

Like Black Lightning before it, Stargirl seeks to push the boundaries of the genre by asking what can be done that previous shows weren’t doing. In the case of Black Lightning, it was introducing a family dynamic that determined the course of a new hero’s development and mentorship, while providing a center stage spot to the first African American hero to headline a series.

In Stargirl, creator Geoff Johns seeks out ways to bring out characters who traditionally see less screen time, like Hourman. He also builds stories that buck the industry trend toward a sliding timeline by showing the progression of the hero identity over generations in a way that feels fresh and different from the approach taken in other next-generation shows like Birds of Prey.

Bringing the JSA To the CW

The premise of Stargirl is the same on television as in the series. It stars former Nickelodeon star Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore, who inherits Starman’s staff and powers after discovering her stepfather was Starman’s assistant when he led the Justice Society of America. The opportunity to introduce a larger, more diverse world of heroes beyond the popular Justice League cast members makes the show an important addition to a lineup that has been expanding rapidly while maintaining a commitment to diverse casting and nuanced storytelling.

What Will Come With Season 2?

If fans have learned anything from previous iterations of CW’s DC hero shows, it’s that the cast will expand well beyond the main character. With Arrow and Flash, we saw a wide range of supporting characters and tie-ins to franchises such as Suicide Squad that have yet to see their own TV debut. The JSA ties already evident in the first season of Stargirl indicate that this new installation will continue that tradition. Just as Supergirl eventually introduced us to more of the Legion of Superheroes, Stargirl is sure to be an exciting entry point into a televised version of the JSA. This may come through its current iterations, through flashbacks, or both.

The second season of Stargirl will see the show move from a web original to a CW network original series, putting it front and center in the new lineup of characters emerging after the Crisis on Infinite Earths last December. That means fans can count on a deeper investment in the show on the part of the studio, which traditionally paves the way for more complex and challenging stories.

That also means fans can pretty much count on the next season being even bigger and more fantastic than the debut.

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
tracker