Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Look, up in the sky: Here’s the new Superman in The CW’s ‘Supergirl’ series

superman tyler hoechlin supergirl photo crop
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Last month, The CW and DC Entertainment cast Everybody Wants Some and Teen Wolf actor Tyler Hoechlin as its new Man of Steel in the Supergirl television series, and now we already have our first look at the actor in costume as Superman.

The photo features Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl and Hoechlin’s Superman side by side in full costume, looking every bit the superheroes they play in the popular series.

Recommended Videos

After only appearing in flashbacks and fleetingly in the opening credits, as well as communicating with Benoist’s character online, Supergirl’s famous cousin will appear in the first two episodes of the upcoming second season of the series.

supergirl superman
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hoechlin joins a select group of actors who have portrayed Superman in live-action television series over the years — George Reeves (Adventures of Superman), Tom Welling (Smallville), and Dean Cain (Lois & Clark), among others. He most recently appeared in Richard Linklater’s “spiritual sequel” to Dazed and Confused, the ’80s-era comedy Everybody Wants Some.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

After airing on CBS its first season, Supergirl moved to The CW for its second season, where it joins the network’s other DC Comics superhero shows: Arrow, The Flash, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Along with Benoist as the title character, the series stars Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen, Laura Benanti as Alura Zor-El, Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant, Chyler Leigh as Alexandra “Alex” Danvers, Jeremy Jordan as Winslow “Winn” Schott, Jenna Dewan Tatum as Lucy Lane, David Harewood as Hank Henshaw, and Peter Facinelli as Maxwell Lord.

The series also features some faces familiar to fans of movie and television superheroes, with former Superman actor Cain and 1984 Supergirl movie star Helen Slater portraying the adopted parents of Benoist’s character. The upcoming season will also introduce Wonder Woman television series star Lynda Carter as the President of the United States.

Supergirl premieres October 10 on the CW.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Josh Johnson heads to therapy in new comedy special Up Here Killing Myself
A man smiles and stares on a couch in Up Here Killing Myself.

For Josh Johnson, comedy is not just a profession, even though the 32-year-old is very good at his job, touring the country as a stand-up comedian and serving as an Emmy-nominated writer on The Daily Show. Johnson has worked for late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Trevor Noah and lived out every comedian's dream by performing at the iconic Madison Square Garden. Bu again, comedy is not just a profession for Johnson. It's his therapy, and Johnson addresses his mental health and other personal issues in his new comedy special, Josh Johnson: Up Here Killing Myself.

In the one-hour Peacock special, Johnson explores seminal moments in his life onstage while weaving in scenes from a conversation with his therapist offstage. Johnson tackles multiple issues throughout the special, including Black mental health, self-discovery, money, family, and a "crazy man on the subway."

Read more
The Batman Part II, Superman: Legacy headline new DC film and TV slate
Robert Pattinson in The Batman.

After much anticipation, James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled their first slate of upcoming projects for DC Studios. The DC heads announced new projects, including The Batman Part II and Superman: Legacy, which will both be released in 2025.

The Batman Part II will see Robert Pattinson reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in the sequel to 2022's The Batman. Matt Reeves will return to write and direct the sequel, which will open in theaters on October 3, 2025. The Batman films from Reeves will not be a part of the unified DC Universe. Instead, it will be categorized as DC Elseworlds, a film or TV series outside of the DC Universe. Joker: Folie à Deux will also fall into this category.

Read more
Night Sky review: A sci-fi mystery that looks down, not up
Franklin and Irene look together at another planet's stars in Night Sky.

In many ways, Night Sky feels deeply indebted to past sci-fi TV hits like Lost and even Netflix's Lost in Space reboot. The eight-episode first season of the new Amazon Prime sci-fi drama is full of strange technological devices, secret organizations, hidden motivations, and overarching conspiracies. By purposefully littering its story with so many mysteries and unexpected reveals, it even feels like the show's creative team is hoping Night Sky will be able to hook viewers in much the same way Lost did.

However, it is to Night Sky’s credit that it’s not hard to imagine a world such as this fictional one even without any sci-fi elements whatsoever. The series focuses on an elderly couple played by J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek, and the ways in which it attempts to explore their decades-long relationship over the course of its season are often genuinely moving and sophisticated. For that reason, there are moments when Night Sky feels more like a family drama than it does a grand sci-fi mystery.

Read more