With the growing number of comic book-based series on network TV, this sort of Battle Royale between spandex series was probably inevitable, but the CBS Television Network’s announcement that its new Supergirl series will air on Monday nights at 8pm ET/PT opposite Gotham on Fox has comic book fans in a quandary that only a DVR will solve easily.  The good news for those of us who are yet to be in possession of such a useful piece of technology is the fact that Supergirl won’t debut on Mondays until CBS’s Thursday Night Football run ends (until then The Big Bang Theory will occupy the Monday 8pm slot).

CBS made the series commitment to Supergirl way back in September (see “Now All the Major Networks Have Live-Action Comic Series”).  The show stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin, who also escaped Krypton’s destruction.  Having spent 12 years with her foster family, the Danvers, the 24-year-old Supergirl arrives in National City where she works for an exacting magazine publisher (played by Calista Flockhart), who has just hired classic Superman character Jimmy Olsen away from the Daily Planet to become her art director.  But the road won't be easy for the rookie Supergirl series, which will have to go up against an already established Gotham with its plethora of DC characters.

Produced by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, Sarah Schecter, and Andrew Kreisberg, Supergirl, like Arrow (also produced by Berlanti and Kreisberg) will also feature a number of DC characters, a list that will likely grow if the show continues over a number of seasons (see “Owain Yeoman to Play Supergirl Villain”).