NBC Orders Powerless For 2016-17 TV Season

The new comedy Powerless will focus on those who have to deal with the damage caused by superheroes

Marvel might be king at the movie box office, but DC is still fairly dominant in the field of network TV shows. I watch every DC comic book show, and they are all of pretty good quality. Now, another DC comic book show is getting added, but on NBC. And it’s a comedy. Powerless is about insurance adjusters in a world filled with superheroes, which might be the most stressful job ever. Here’s the official description:

"“Powerless” is the first-ever DC Comics comedy. Vanessa Hudgens stars as Emily, a spunky young insurance adjuster specializing in regular-people coverage against damage caused by the crime-fighting superheroes. It’s when she stands up to one of these larger-than-life figures that she accidentally becomes a cult “hero” in her own right — even if it’s just to her group of lovably quirky co-workers. Now, while she navigates her normal, everyday life against an explosive backdrop, Emily might just discover that being a hero doesn’t always require superpowers."

Powerless will also star Community’s Danny Pudi, and  Firefly/Suburbia’s Alan Tudyk. Marvel also supposedly has a similar show in development based on their comic “Damage Control”, but we haven’t heard anything about that in a long time, so who knows what the status on that is.

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So, I really like the idea of Powerless, and the cast seems phenomenal (I will definitely watch Danny Pudi & Alan Tudyk in just about anything). But I worry about it being on NBC, and not just because NBC doesn’t have a great track record with comic book shows (see not just Heroes but also short-lived DC property Constantine). But obviously NBC isn’t tied to WB like CBS & CW are. Will WB let Powerless really play around with and mock their heroes, more importantly letting them actually appear? I mean, we don’t need to have Superman or Batman show up every week, but this seems like a show ripe for B & C tier actual DC superheroes, and I just feel it might be a wasted opportunity, especially being on NBC and not tied to any other DC show or the movie universe. I hope I’m wrong, we’ll see when the trailers start dropping for this and other 2016-17 shows.

h/t Variety