The crossover between Supergirl and The Flash is only hours away, airing at 8PM (ET/PT) tonight on CBS. The episode is called “Worlds Finest” and you can find some preview images here. We’ve also written a review of this fantastic episode.
After last week’s screening, we spoke with the show’s Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, who revealed that a crossover is something they always wanted to do.
“From the day we cast Melissa [Benoist, who plays Supergirl], the notion of her in scenes with Grant [Gustin], or someday maybe, in the best of all worlds, with Stephen [Amell], as well, it’s exciting to think of them on screen together, and there’s a similar tonality to the shows,” Berlanti said to a room full of press. Ultimately, a few things had to go right. “We were introducing this notion of Earth-2 and the multiverse on The Flash, and that had to work,” he explained. “We’ve always said, very openly, that The Flash and Arrow exist in a universe where there’s no Superman, or you would have heard about him. They would have had at least one conversation about him, and certainly Supergirl, as well. That was one thing.”
There was another thing that was also in the way. “There was the notion that it’s two separate networks, so it’s more challenging, in that way, because it’s not so convenient. It’s two separate cities that they shoot in. We wanted Supergirl to work and stand on its own on CBS, and have its own audience. We thought we might wait until the second season, but after Christmas, we came back and were planning out the final third of the year and we thought we could do it. It felt like the right time for him to enter her world and help her out,” Berlanti continued. Fortunately, the Powers That Be were all very enthusiastic… and they weren’t the only ones.
“One of the things that really kept the flame and the torch for it alive was that a lot of journalists and the fans online wanted it. There was consistent enthusiasm, throughout the year, for the idea,” Berlanti said graciously. “Once everybody had a sense of how the shows worked independently and how they could possibly come together, that’s how it all happened. And then, there was the logistics of having to navigate Grant coming down, not just once but twice, right when he was in the heat of the season [in Vancouver].” The show also had to be properly constructed, with hopes people will revisit the show(s) after the crossover. ” There’s so much for people to watch these days, so if you get a chance to have people tune back in who may have lost touch in the New Year or have been busy, you want to put your best foot forward. You also want to honor everybody’s time and commitment, and we were excited to do that. Grant and Melissa, and everybody in the whole cast, really delivered. It felt like Grant had been on the show before, when he showed up,” Berlanti said.
Andrew Kreisberg added that “Worlds Finest” was exciting to him because it wasn’t just a gimmick episode. “Supergirl really needed him this week because of the things that she’s been dealing with. I called Grant and said, ‘Do you want to do this? You’re going to get to be Oliver.’ And he was like, ‘I’m going to have to be all dark and brooding?’ And I was like, ‘No, no, no. In the same way that, in the pilot, you were just starting out and Oliver was the one who had been doing it for awhile, he was able to be the voice of reason and help you out. That’s what you’re going to be for Kara. Kara is just starting out and she’s had a crisis of conscience because of the Red Kryptonite’,” Kreisberg recalled.
Gustin agreed, and the rest is TV history.
Check out “Worlds Finest” tonight on CBS and be sure to come talk about tonight’s show on our Supergirl forum!
