Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Stars on screen
‘Supergirl,’ meet supervillain:
The stakes just keep getting higher for Kara Zor-El, and that’s saying something for a young woman who has survived the destruction of her home planet and adapted to life on Earth.
With CW’s “Supergirl” laying the groundwork for its upcoming third season, scheduled to premiere Monday, Oct. 9, we already know which baddie the super-powered heroine will be facing, and even who will be playing her.
Odette Annable, who starred in last season’s ill-fated medical drama “Pure Genius” on CBS, will be “Supergirl’s” primary big bad for the third season. She’ll be playing Reign, an enormously powerful Worldkiller with rather villainous plans for Earth.
“Supergirl’s” titular heroine is played by “Glee” alumnus Melissa Benoist, who does double duty as both the caped superhero and as her mundane alter-ego Kara Danvers. Mehcad Brooks (“Necessary Roughness”), Jeremy Jordan (“Smash”), Chyler Leigh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and David Harewood (“Homeland”) also star.
“Supergirl” premiered on CBS in 2015, but only lasted a single season on that network before joining CW’s roster of other DC Comics-based dramas “Arrow,” “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow.”
As for Annable’s Reign, little is known beyond the fact that she’ll be the main antagonist for most of the third season. While much speculation can be gleaned from the character’s role in DC’s comics, CW’s superhero dramas tend to use the comic book content as inspiration for their characters, rather than feeling beholden to follow them all that closely.
Supergirl has adjusted to life on Earth pretty well, but her biggest challenge yet is incoming. “Supergirl” returns to CW this October, during the fall premiere season.
It’s 15 seasons in, and “Top Chef” is finally headed for Colorado. Bravo’s award-winning cooking competition is filming its next season in the Centennial State, with no release date yet announced, although late fall is a good bet based on past premieres.
Longtime “Top Chef” fans will no doubt be familiar with the connection between the series and the state. In addition to a big cash prize ($125,000 in recent seasons), each season’s winner lands a high-profile spot at Aspen’s Food & Wine Classic, a culinary event put on every summer by Food & Wine magazine.
Despite that connection, there’s no word on whether “Top Chef” will actually be filming in the high-altitude town. So far, it’s been announced that challenges will be set in Denver, Boulder and the picturesque town of Telluride.
What there is word on is that all of the familiar faces are returning. Author and model Padma Lakshmi has signed on as host and one of the main judges — a dual role that she’s filled since the second season. Chef Tom Colicchio, who has served as head judge since the show’s inception way back in 2006, is also slated to return, along with food writer Gail Simmons, who’s also been a judge since the very beginning. Former “MasterChef” judge Graham Elliot, who first joined “Top Chef” as a judge last season, is set to return as well.
Aspen, Colorado, has long been one of the many rewards at the end of the season for “Top Chef’s” winning cheftestant, but with season 15, the beautiful Colorado mountains will be just part of the backdrop.