While DC is still in the early stages of getting its movie universe rolling, most of their TV endeavors have worked out great over the last couple years. Arrow, The Flash and the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow are leading the charge at The CW, Gotham Season 2 will resume on Fox in February, and Supergirl is off to a good start on CBS. (Then there’s also Vertigo adaptations iZombie and the upcoming Lucifer on The CW and Fox, respectively.) Now there’s a new DC project on the way for fans of more lighthearted fare. Following today’s news that TNT won’t be making Titans, it’s been announced that NBC is moving forward with a pilot for their DC office comedy Powerless.
As DC Entertainment’s first half-hour comedy, the single-camera Powerless will follow a group of normal employees at an insurance company (previously said to be one of “the worst” in America) who are envious of their world's superheroes and, as THR notes, follows their “quest to find their own power.” So rather than focusing on longtime favorites like Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman, the average Joes of the DC universe are finally getting their time to shine.
The pilot will be written by A to Z’s Ben Queen, and Michael Patrick Jann of The State fame will executive produce and direct the pilot. As is normally the case, if NBC likes what they see, there's no doubt Powerless will be ordered to series. If that happens, let’s just hope Powerless fares better than NBC’s previous DC adaptation Constantine, which was cancelled after only one season.
With all of the superhero dramas airing right now, it’s good to see that DC is branching out into a different kind of storytelling. This is basically their first foray into comedy, though if you’ve watched the 1960s Batman TV series, you know that was anything but a serious take on the Caped Crusader. Nevertheless, live-action superhero projects have become so popular that they don’t all have to be the same story about the hero saving the world or protecting a city. Powerless provides an opportunity to point the spotlight at the normal citizens of this world. That said, it will be interesting to see if any heroes (be it an A-lister or someone lower tier) do appear on Powerless, rather than just from far away or via video footage.
The coming months will see casting announcements being made for Powerless, and we’ll know if the project has a future or not closer to the beginning of summer. Meanwhile, Marvel has their own half-hour comedy in the works, titled Damage Control, which will follow a cleaning crew that tidies up after battles between superheroes and supervillains. This includes regular stuff like moving debris or weirder activities like returning lost ray guns. So whether you’re a DC fan or more partial to Marvel, prepare for some comedy to join the world of super heroics on the small screen.
We’ll keep you updated on any news regarding Powerless’ development, but in the meantime, there’s already plenty of comic book programming available for viewers. To find out when your favorite superhero TV shows will be back with new episodes, check out our midseason return schedule.
