Why ‘Supergirl’ Melissa Benoist Doubted ‘The Flash’ Crossover Would Happen


Once the decision to create a crossover episode for Supergirl and The Flash was confirmed, everyone from top network executives to the individual creative teams moved quickly to set the wheels in motion. There was much to be done to bring The Flash‘s Grant Gustin over to CBS’s Supergirl, including solving the logistics of bringing a CW character to a new network.

Supergirl star Melissa Benoist says she doubted the crossover with The Flash would ever be realized

The March 28 episode of Supergirl, titled “Worlds Finest,” will be the one not to be missed for those anticipating the crossover with The Flash. What has made this possible is that Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg are each executive producers on Supergirl and on The Flash, through Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment. Making the melding of the two series even easier is the fact that the CW network is the joint property of Warner Bros. and CBS.

Still, Supergirl star Melissa Benoist doubted things would come off as smoothly as they have for the much-anticipated crossover event.

“I honestly didn’t think it was possible between networks,” Benoist admits. “I remember Andrew Kreisberg telling me right before Grant and I presented at the Golden Globes, ‘we’re gonna just pitch the idea and see how they respond,’ and I remember thinking, ‘oh my god, this is going to happen. It has to! There’s no way in the world that people wouldn’t see how valuable that could be and how awesome it could be and how much the fans would love it.'”

Ms. Benoist wasn’t alone in seeing the potential for the Supergirl and Flash crossover. CBS executive Glenn Geller loved the idea as well, especially because it could be accomplished so organically with The Flash’s ability to travel between alternate universes. Geller adds that he likes the way everyone worked so quickly to bring The Flash together with Supergirl without disrupting the story arcs currently in mid-stream on Supergirl. Subplots such as the romantic and professional lives of Benoist’s character were not disrupted by events in the episode.

Benoist and Gustin on getting to work together in the DC universe

Grant Gustin points out that both he and Melissa were on Glee together, but as he points out that they never shared dialogue together, The Flash star jokes that they may have made eye contact at some point. He adds that he feels appreciative for the opportunity to work with Benoist on this Supergirl episode.

Ms. Benoist says she definitely feels the same way and the Supergirl lead says she was relieved to find that they both like to run their scenes similarly. Melissa says she had a chance to talk with The Flash actor and she enjoyed sharing stories about what it’s like to be the superhero and the lead of a show.

Speaking of the crossover episode, Melissa says The Flash‘s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time for Kara. Her exposure to red kryptonite and the subsequent events have left Supergirl down and out. She feels lost and forsaken, as all of National City has turned against her.

“She has no idea what to do next or how to redeem herself, and he comes in and they have this lovely relationship of helping each other and exchanging advice in what they’ve both experienced,” Ms. Benoist says in describing the arrival of The Flash. “There’s also a joy about it that she’s found someone like her, someone that has these powers and loves to help people. So I think there’s a really nice give and take between the two of them that instills more confidence in her when she really needs it.”

Adding to the drama, The Flash arrives just as Supergirl finds herself facing off against Livewire and Silver Banshee. She’s going to need help to defeat these adversaries and The Flash is just the man for the job.

Even though The Flash crossover to Supergirl hasn’t yet aired, the networks are considering it a successful event. It has been deemed so promising in fact that there is already talk of Melissa Benoist crossing over to The Flash at some point.

[Image by CBS]

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