Melissa Benoist has been cast as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl

CBS has its Supergirl.

TVLine reporter Matt Webb Mitovich reports that former Glee star Melissa Benoist has been cast for the role of Kara Zor-El/Supergirl in the upcoming hour-long series for CBS.

The show is being developed by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, No Ordinary Family, Brothers & Sisters, Green Lantern, The Flash) and Allison Adler (No Ordinary Family, Chuck, The New Normal, Still Standing). In a prior report regarding the synopsis of the series, Kara Zor-El was sent from her dying home planet of Krypton to Earth at age 12. She is taken in by the Danvers family, a foster family who taught her to be careful with her extraordinary powers. After repressing said skills for more than a decade, Kara is forced to bust out her super moves in public during an unexpected disaster. Energized by her heroism for the first time in her life, she begins embracing her abilities in the name of helping the people of her city, earning herself a super moniker along the way.

Benoist is best known for her role as Marley Rose on Fox’s Glee, which is in its final season. She has also guest starred on episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and CBS’s The Good Wife and Blue Bloods. She also starred in the 2014 film Whiplash, which has been nominated for this year’s Academy Awards.

This figures to be the first of several castings for the latest DC Comics property to be adapted as a television show. According to the Daily Supergirl website, there are open casting calls for Kara’s foster sister, Alexandra Danvers, as well as iconic DC Comic characters Cat Grant, James Olsen, Winslow Schott (The Toyman), and Hank Henshaw (Cyborg).

There’s been Internet speculation as to whether or not Supergirl could fit into the same television universe as the CW’s Arrow and The Flash due to Greg Beranti’s involvement as producer for both shows. Despite being on a different network, Supergirl was originally pitched to the CW, further fueling the speculation that the shows could share the same universe.

There’s also the question whether or not Kara’s famous cousin Kal-el, a.k.a. Superman, will be mentioned or make a brief appearance on the show. Last November, Beranti confirmed that Warner Bros isn’t allowing either series to mention anything related to Batman or Superman due to the studio’s desire for a DC Cinematic Universe. Warner Bros also has a Batman related TV series on FOX with Gotham, so it’s possible the studio doesn’t want to have two different versions of Batman on TV.

Do you like the casting? Will you tune in to watch Supergirl this fall?