The sixth and final 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 Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'', which is based on the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

character Kara Zor-El / Supergirl and premiered on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

on March 30, 2021, and consisted of 20 episodes. It is set in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and 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 ...

, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe. The season is produced by

Berlanti Productions Berlanti Productions (formerly known as Berlanti-Liddell Productions and Berlanti Television) is an American film and television production company founded by screenwriter, producer and filmmaker Greg Berlanti and producer Mickey Liddell in 2000 ...

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television (abbreviated as WBTV; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division), is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio o ...

and

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and is based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery which manages DC Comics characters by working with other units ...

, with 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'', '' Bionic Woman'', Summerland, ''American Dreams'' (NBC) and ''Supergirl Supergirl is t ...

serving as

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

s. The season was ordered in January 2020, with filming beginning that October.

Melissa Benoist Melissa Marie Benoist ( ; born October 4, 1988) is an American actress and singer. Her first major role was Marley Rose on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical comedy drama ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2012–2014), in which she was a serie ...

stars as

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

, with principal cast members

Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; ''née'' Potts; born April 10, 1982), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is best known for her roles as Janey Briggs in the comedy film '' Not Another Teen Movie' ...

Katie McGrath Katie McGrath () is an Irish actress known for several television series: portraying Morgana Pendragon in BBC One's ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Lucy Westenra on the British-American series ''Dracula'' (2013–2014), Saskia in the TV series ...

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 '' Be ...

Nicole Maines Nicole Amber Maines (born 1997) is an American actress, writer, and transgender rights activist. Prior to her acting career, she was the anonymous plaintiff in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court case '' Doe v. Regional School Unit 26'', in which ...

Azie Tesfai Azie Tesfai is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is known for her television roles, including ''Jane the Virgin'' and ''Supergirl''. Early life and education Azalech ''(Azie)'' Tesfai was raised in Los Angeles, California, the daugh ...

Julie Gonzalo Julieta Susana Gonzalo (; born September 9, 1981) is an American and Argentine actress. On television, she has played Parker Lee on ''Veronica Mars'' (2006–2007; 2019), Maggie Dekker on ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), Pamela Rebecca Barnes on the ...

Staz Nair Staz Nair is a British actor and singer. He is known for his roles in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2016–2019), the CW series ''Supergirl'' (2019–2021), and the titular lead in the BBC One series ''Virdee''. Early life and education ...

and

David Harewood David Michael Harewood (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor, presenter and the current president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012 ...

also returning from previous seasons. They are joined by new cast member

Peta Sergeant Peta Sergeant is a Malaysian-born Australian actress best known for her lead role in the Australian television series ''Satisfaction (Australian TV series), Satisfaction''. She graduated from National Institute of Dramatic Art, NIDA. Career Her ...

. Former series regulars

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, Onta ...

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 ...

Calista Flockhart Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an American actress. She is 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 w ...

, Jeremy Jordan, and Chris Wood all return for guest appearances, with the latter four returning in the series finale.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El / Supergirl *

as Alex Danvers / Sentinel *

Lena Luthor Lena Luthor is the name of two fictional comic book characters in DC Comics. The first one, introduced in 1961, is the sister of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor, while the second one, introduced in 2000, is Lex Luthor's daughter who is named after h ...

and Elizabeth Walsh *

as Querl Dox / Brainiac 5 *

as Nia Nal / Dreamer *

as Kelly Olsen / Golden Guardian *

as Andrea Rojas / Acrata *

as William Dey *

as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter *

as Nyxlygsptlnz "Nyxly" and Nyxlygsptlnz A.I.

Recurring

Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

Brenda Strong Brenda Lee Strong"Miss Arizona 1980"
''Arizona Republic''. July 13, 1980. ...

as Lillian Luthor *

Sharon Leal Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''Dreamgirls'' (2006), '' This Christmas'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married?'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married Too?'' (2010) and her roles on the tel ...

as M'gann M'orzz / Miss Martian * Claude Knowlton as Silas White *

Jason Behr Jason Behr (born December 30, 1973) is an American film and television actor. He first starred in the American television series '' Roswell'', for which he was twice nominated for a Saturn Award, followed by roles in the films '' The Shipping Ne ...

Zor-El Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A Kryptonian, he is the younger brother of Jor-El,'' Action Comics #1075 (2024)'' husband of Alura, father of Supergirl, and paternal uncle of Superman. T ...

* Matt Baram as Mitch * Jhaleil Swaby as Orlando Davis * Mila Jones as Esme * Andrew Morgado as the voice of the Totem Oracles

Guest

;Cast notes

Production

Development

In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a sixth season. Jessica Queller and

return as the showrunners. In September 2020, it was announced that it would be the final season, with a 20 episode order.

Writing

The twelfth episode was written by

and J. Holtham. This marks the first time in the Arrowverse that an actor (Tesfai) wrote an episode. Like previous seasons, the season too is inspired by

sociopolitical Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how p ...

issues in the real world, especially in its second half. Queller said the theme of the season would be "power, and the abuse of power, and the limits of powers, and from without and within". Rovner said the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement was another influence on the season.

, who portrays Kara Danvers / Supergirl, said the season serves as a "self-exploration" for her character, "looking in the mirror and ontemplatingwhat her power means because it's almost limitless and it makes her so strong on Earth".

Casting

Main cast members Melissa Benoist,

, Azie Tesfai,

, Staz Nair and

will return as Kara Danvers / Supergirl,

Alex Danvers Alexandra "Alex" Danvers Ph.D. M.D., also known as Sentinel, is a fictional character from the Arrowverse television series ''Supergirl'', portrayed by actress Chyler Leigh. Created by executive producers Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, and Andrew Kr ...

, Querl Dox / Brainiac 5, Nia Nal / Dreamer, Kelly Olsen, Andrea Rojas, William Dey, and J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter. In December 2020,

David Ramsey David Paul Ramsey (born November 17, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in The CW Arrowverse series ''Arrow'', ''The Flash'', ''Supergirl'', and ''Batwoman'' as John Diggle / Spartan, portraying Diggle and Bass Reeves i ...

was revealed to be reprising his ''

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 ...

'' role of

John Diggle John William Diggle (2 March 1847 – 24 March 1920) was an English Anglican bishop. He was Archdeacon of Westmorland from 1896 to 1901, Archdeacon of Birmingham from 1903 to 1904, and Bishop of Carlisle from 1905 to his death in 1920. Early ...

in addition to directing at least one episode in the season. In March 2021, Claude Knowlton and

joined the cast in undisclosed recurring roles for the sixth season. Knowlton's role turned out be Silas while Behr's role turned out to be

who was previously portrayed by

Robert Gant Robert Gant (born Robert John Gonzalez; July 13, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ben Bruckner on the Showtime series '' Queer as Folk''. Early life and education Robert Gant was born as Robert Gonzalez in Tampa, Fl ...

in season one and season two. In the third episode,

debuted as series regular as fifth-dimensional

imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...

Nyxly ''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 Supe ...

, who would serve as the season's main villain.

Filming

Filming began on October 13, 2020. It was initially scheduled to begin after Benoist returned from maternity leave, but was later rescheduled to begin on September 28, 2020. However, by September 29, filming was indefinitely delayed, because of delays in receiving COVID-19 test results for the cast and crew, before beginning in October. The early filming of the season worked around Benoist's absence until she returned to work in January 2021. Filming concluded on August 6, 2021.

Marketing

In early August 2020, The CW released several posters of the Arrowverse superheroes wearing face masks, including Supergirl, with all posters having the caption "Real Heroes Wear Masks". This marketing tactic was used to "raise public awareness on the efficacy of facial coverings preventing the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Broadcast

The sixth season was originally scheduled to premiere in mid-2021. However, ''

Superman & Lois ''Superman & Lois'' is an American superhero drama television series developed for The CW by Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti, based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Tyler Hoechlin and ...

'' went on hiatus due to a production delay caused by COVID-19, so the season premiered early on March 30, 2021. The season continued on August 24, 2021, after ''Superman & Lois'' finished its first season.

Reception

References

{{Arrowverse 2021 American television seasons Supergirl (TV series) seasons Television productions postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic