The third season of the American television series ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'', which is based on the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

character Supergirl / Kara Zor-El, focuses on a costumed superhero who is the cousin to

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

and one of the last surviving

Kryptonians Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to refe ...

. The season was ordered in January 2017. It was filmed from July 2017 to April 2018, and filming took place in Vancouver. Alongside

Melissa Benoist Melissa Marie Benoist ( ; born October 4, 1988) is an American actress, singer and producer. Her first major role was Marley Rose on the Fox musical comedy drama ''Glee'' (2012–2014), where she was a series regular during the fifth season. S ...

, who stars in the titular role, principal cast members

Mehcad Brooks Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is known for his roles as Matthew Applewhite in the second season of ABC's series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2005–2006), Jerome in '' The Gam ...

Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; '' née'' Potts), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is known for portraying Janey Briggs in the comedy film ''Not Another Teen Movie'' (2001), Lexie Grey in the ...

, Jeremy Jordan, Chris Wood and

David Harewood David Harewood MBE (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor and presenter. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012), and as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter and Hank Henshaw / C ...

return from the second season. They are joined by

Katie McGrath Katie McGrath () is an Irish actress. In television, she gained recognition for portraying Morgana Pendragon in the BBC One series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Lucy Westenra on the British-American series ''Dracula'' (2013–2014), Saskia in the ...

, who was promoted to a series regular from her recurring status in the previous season, and new cast member

Odette Annable Odette Juliette Annable (; born May 10, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for various roles in film and television, including as Dr. Jessica Adams in the Fox medical drama series ''House'', Beth McIntyre in the monster film ''Cloverfie ...

. Former series regulars

Calista Flockhart Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for portraying the title character on the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 1998 ...

and

Floriana Lima Floriana Lima (born March 26, 1981) is an American actress and model. She played Maggie Sawyer on The CW's ''Supergirl''. She began playing recurring character Darcy Cooper in season 2 of the ABC drama ''A Million Little Things'', and was promo ...

return as guest star and recurring respectively. The season premiered on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

on October 9, 2017, and ran until June 18, 2018, over 23 episodes. The series was renewed for a fourth season on April 2, 2018.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El / Supergirl *

as James Olsen / Guardian *

Alex Danvers Alexandra "Alex" Danvers Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. Doctor of Medicine, M.D., also known as Sentinel, is a fictional Character (arts), character from the Arrowverse television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', portrayed by actress Chy ...

* Jeremy Jordan as Winslow "Winn" Schott Jr. *

Lena Luthor Lena Luthor is a fictional comic book character in DC Comics. She is the sister of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor. She was played by Cassidy Freeman in the television series ''Smallville'' and by Katie McGrath in the Arrowverse series ''Supergirl ( ...

as Samantha Arias / Reign * Chris Wood as Mon-El / Mike Matthews *

as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter

Recurring

Erica Durance Erica Durance (; born June 21, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Lois Lane in the WB/ CW superhero television series ''Smallville'' and as Dr. Alex Reid in the CTV medical drama ''Saving Hope''. Early life Durance was b ...

Alura Zor-El Alura In-Ze is a fictional character, fictional comic book character appearing in publications by DC Comics, usually those featuring Superman and related characters. Alura is the Kryptonian daughter of In-Zee, wife of Zor-El, mother of Supergirl ...

Emma Tremblay Emma Tremblay (born April 21, 2004) is a Canadian actress. Tremblay is known for her roles on the television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'' and ''Wayward Pines'', and the films ''Elysium (film), Elysium'', ''The Giver (film), The Give ...

Ruby Arias ''Supergirl'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the Superman franchise and Al Plastino and Otto Binder's character Su ...

Adrian Pasdar Adrian Pasdar (born April 30, 1965) is an American film, television, and voice actor. He is known for his roles in '' Profit'', ''Near Dark'', ''Carlito's Way'', ''Mysterious Ways'', ''Heroes'' and as Glenn Talbot on ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. ...

Morgan Edge Morgan Edge is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Originally a supporting character, he is a media mogul who acquires ''The Daily Planet'' and employs Clark Kent as a television journalist for his WGBS ...

Maggie Sawyer Margaret Ellen Sawyer is a fictional character that appears in stories published by DC Comics, and has been a supporting character in both Superman and Batman comic books. The character appeared in the live-action series ''Smallville'', played b ...

Andrea Brooks Andrea K. Brooks (born March 3, 1989) is a Canadian actress and model best known for portraying Faith Carter on the Hallmark series ''When Calls the Heart'' and Eve Teschmacher in The CW series ''Supergirl''. Early life Born in Brantford, Ont ...

as Eve Teschmacher *

Carl Lumbly Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dick Hallorann in '' Doctor Sleep'', NYPD detective Marcus Petrie on the CBS police drama ''Cagney & Lacey'', CIA agent Marcus Dixon on the ABC espiona ...

as M'yrnn J'onzz *

Chad Lowe Charles Davis Lowe II (born January 15, 1968) is an American actor. He is the younger brother of actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in '' Life Goes On'' as a young man living with HIV. He has had recurring roles on '' E ...

Thomas Coville Thomas Coville (born 10 May 1968) is a French yacht racer. Coville was born in Rennes. He participated in significant offshore races and record attempts. In April 2012, he achieved 7 circumnavigations of the world, on mono or multihulls, sing ...

Amy Jackson Amy Louise Jackson (born 31 January 1992) is a British actress and model known for her work in Indian films, predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu languages. A former Miss Teen World, Jackson has appeared in over fifteen films. She made her ...

as Imra Ardeen / Saturn Girl *

Jesse Rath Jesse Rath (born February 11, 1989) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the television series ''18 to Life'' as Carter Boyd and as Ram on ''Aaron Stone''. He also appeared on the Syfy series '' Defiance'' playing the role of Alak Tarr, on '' Bei ...

as Querl Dox / Brainiac 5 * Anjali Jay as

Selena Selena Quintanilla Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer. Called the " Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mex ...

Guest

"Crisis on Earth-X"

Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on The CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...

as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow ** Amell also portrays Dark Arrow, Oliver's Earth-X counterpart *

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

as Professor Martin Stein / Firestorm *

Jesse L. Martin Jesse Lamont Martin ('' né'' Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He originated the role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical ''Rent'' and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on '' Law & Order'' and ...

as Joe West *

Emily Bett Rickards Emily Bett Rickards (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series ''Arrow'', her first television credit. She has also reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows ''The Flash'', ''Legends ...

Felicity Smoak Felicity Smoak is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. Her first appearance was in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Rafael Kayanan. She was originally the manager of ...

Caity Lotz Caitlin Marie Lotz (born December 30, 1986) is an American actress, dancer and singer. She has portrayed Stephanie Horton in ''Mad Men'', Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series ''Death Valley'' (2011), Annie in '' The Pact'' (2013) ...

as Sara Lance / White Canary *

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

as Harrison "Harry" Wells ** Cavanagh also portrays Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash *

Dominic Purcell Dominic Haakon Myrtved PurcellO'Connor, B,Break Out". ''Men's Fitness''. December/January 2007 Issue; retrieved 18 December 2006. (born 17 February 1970) is a British-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Lincoln Burrows in ...

as Mick Rory / Heat Wave *

Candice Patton Candice Kristina Patton is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Iris West-Allen in the television series ''The Flash'' (2014–2023), which earned her a Saturn Award from four nominations. Early life Patton was raised in Pla ...

Iris West Iris West is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The ...

Franz Drameh Franz Alhusaine Drameh (born 5 January 1993) is an English actor. His film debut was in Clint Eastwood's fantasy drama, ''Hereafter'' (2010). He also appeared in British film '' Attack the Block'' (2011) and the 2014 blockbuster ''Edge of Tomor ...

as Jefferson Jackson / Firestorm *

Danielle Panabaker Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the Disney films '' Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), '' Sky High'' (2005) and ''Read It and Weep'' ( ...

as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost * Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe *

Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...

Barry Allen / Flash Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

Keiynan Lonsdale Keiynan Lonsdale (; born 19 December 1991) is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He is known for roles such as Oliver Lloyd in the ABC series ''Dance Academy'' (2012–2013), Wally West/Kid Flash in the CW series ''The Flash'' ...

as Wally West / Kid Flash *

Patrick Sabongui Patrick Sabongui (born January 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor, stunt performer, theatre actor, and drama teacher. He is also known for his role as David Singh in the CW series ''The Flash''. Personal life Born to an Egyptian family, Sabongui obt ...

as David Singh *

Isabella Hofmann Isabella Hofmann (born December 11, 1958) is an American actress known for her portrayal of Kate in '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), ''Megan Russert'' in '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1994–1997), and Dr. Renee Dunseith in ''Providence'' (200 ...

as Clarissa Stein * Christina Brucato as

Lily Stein ''Legends of Tomorrow'' is an American television series, developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Phil Klemmer, and Andrew Kreisberg, based on several characters from DC Comics. The series premiered in the United States on January 21, 2016, ...

Danielle Nicolet Danielle Nicolet (born Danielle Diggs; November 24, 1973) is an American actress. She has made appearances on shows such as ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001), ''Second Time Around (TV series), Second Time Around'' (2004–05), ''The Starte ...

as Cecile Horton *

Jessica Parker Kennedy Jessica Parker Kennedy (born October 3, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She played Melissa Glaser on the CW series ''The Secret Circle'', Max on the Starz original series '' Black Sails'' and Nora West-Allen / XS on ''The Flash'', and has also app ...

as a caterer

Production

Development

On January 8, 2017,

renewed ''Supergirl'' for a third season. Series co-creator

Ali Adler Allison Beth Adler (born May 30, 1967) is a Canadian-American television producer and writer. She is the co-creator of ''Supergirl'' and '' The New Normal'', and is also known for her work on ''Chuck'' and ''Family Guy.'' Early life Adler was b ...

decided not to return as showrunner for season 3, and instead remained as a consultant. Jessica Queller and

Robert Rovner Robert Rovner is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on TV shows Crossing Jordan, Private Practice, Dallas (2012 TV series), Bionic Woman, Summerland, American Dreams (NBC) and Supergirl (TV series). He is cur ...

served as the showrunners alongside series co-creator

Andrew Kreisberg Andrew Kreisberg (born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, producer and comic book writer. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''Supergirl ...

Writing

Jessica Queller described the theme of the season as being "What does it mean to be human?". Robert Rovner and Queller also said that the season would continue to explore

s struggle with her family's legacy, with Rovner explaining, "I think one of the central issues about Lena is that she comes from this family of bad guys and I think her journey is – and we've see her grapple with it in Season 2 – is she on the side of good or is she on the side of bad?". The season also sees

breaking up with

, who she met in season two. Kreisberg said the writers chose Alex wanting children and Maggie not wanting them as the reason for the breakup since he felt it was a "true human experience", considering that some employees in the writer's room broke up with their lovers because of differing views over wanting children. He also said that despite the breakup, Alex and Maggie still love each other, evident by them sleeping together after breaking up. The season also sees Kara Danvers / Supergirl and

Mon-El Lar Gand, known mainly as Mon-El (and alternatively as Valor and M'Onel), is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman. The cha ...

again parting ways; Queller compared this separation to that of

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

and

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

's characters in the ending of ''Casablanca'' (1942), saying, "They both have destinies in different times as heroes. What they did was the sort-of ''Casablanca'' decision of putting what's most important to them – which is saving the world – first."

Casting

Main cast members

, Jeremy Jordan, Chris Wood and

return from previous seasons in their respective roles as Kara, James Olsen, Alex,

Winn Schott ''Supergirl'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the Superman franchise and Al Plastino and Otto Binder's character Sup ...

, Mon-El and J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter. They are joined by

and

, playing Lena Luthor and Samantha Arias / Reign, respectively. McGrath was promoted from her recurring status in season two.

, who portrayed Maggie Sawyer as a regular in season two, was demoted to a recurring role in season three as Lima wanted to pursue other opportunities. She had been contracted only for one season (the second), but agreed to appear in five episodes of the third season. This is also the final season to feature Wood, who Rovner said was intended to appear in only two seasons. Jordan too exited the series as a regular with this season, as he wanted to begin "a new chapter in islife".

Filming

Filming for the season began on July 6, 2017 and ended on April 28, 2018, taking place in Vancouver.

Arrowverse tie-ins

In May 2017, The CW president Mark Pedowitz officially announced plans for a four-show

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed. ...

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

event, crossing over episodes of the television series ''Supergirl'', ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'', ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klem ...

'', and ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

''. The crossover, ''

Crisis on Earth-X "Crisis on Earth-X" is the fourth Arrowverse Crossover (fiction), crossover event, featuring episodes of the live-action television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash ...

'', began with ''Supergirl'' and a special airing of ''Arrow'' on November 27, 2017, and concluded on ''The Flash'' and ''Legends of Tomorrow'' on November 28. The crossover also sees Benoist, Brooks and Jordan playing the Earth-X versions of their characters.

Release

Broadcast

The season premiered on The CW in the United States on October 9, 2017, and ended on June 18, 2018. It premiered on October 16, 2017 in the United Kingdom on Sky One.

Home media

The season was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on September 17, 2018, and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on September 18, 2018.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the third season an 80% approval rating from critics with an average rating of 7.32/10, based on 13 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Heavier themes lead to higher stakes, but ''Supergirl'' gives its eponymous heroine and her fellow supers plenty of room for growth, creating a well-balanced, engaging third season." Jesse Schedeen of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

rated the season premiere 7.5 out of 10, saying it "largely focusing on what's worked best for the show in the past – emphasizing Kara Danvers' never-ending struggle to balance her personal and superhero lives and the inspirational symbol Supergirl has become to National City", but added that "the lackluster debut of new villain Morgan Edge does little to suggest the series will improve on its perpetual villain woes". In his review of the season finale he said, "''Supergirl''s third season ended on a fairly mixed note. The season has taken a recent downturn thanks to the shift in focus regarding Reign and her mistresses, and he season finalewasn't able to repair that damage. However, it did benefit from some great, emotionally charged scenes and a generally strong emphasis on Kara and her supporting cast."

Accolades

, - ! scope="row" rowspan="9" , 2018 ,

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

, The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2018 , ''Supergirl'' , , , - , rowspan="3" ,

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

, Best Actress on a Television Series , data-sort-value="Benoist, Melissa" , Melissa Benoist , , , - , Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series , ''Supergirl'' , , , - , Best Supporting Actress on Television , data-sort-value="Annable, Odette" ,

, , , - , rowspan="5" ,

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

, Choice Action TV Actor , data-sort-value="Wood, Chris" , Chris Wood , , , - , Choice Action TV Actress , data-sort-value="Benoist, Melissa" , Melissa Benoist , , , - , Choice Action TV Show , ''Supergirl'' , , , - , Choice Scene Stealer , data-sort-value="McGrath, Katie" ,

, , , - , Choice TV Villain , data-sort-value="Annable, Odette" , Odette Annable , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="1" , 2019 ,

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

, Best Stunt Coordination in a Dramatic Series , data-sort-value="Brooks, Dustin" , Dustin Brooks, Simon Burnett, James Michalopoulos ("

Shelter from the Storm "Shelter from the Storm" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on September 17, 1974, and released on his 15th studio album, ''Blood on the Tracks'', in 1975. It was later anthologized on the compilation album ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' in 2000. Com ...

") , ,

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Arrowverse 2017 American television seasons 2018 American television seasons Supergirl (TV series) seasons