Supergirl season 6 release date: Latest news on final season of DC Comics show

Fans will be pleased to hear that Supergirl star Melissa Benoist is open to the prospect of donning the cape again, expressing great respect and affection for her colleagues across DC's television landscape.

"I am not opposed to putting on the suit again and I know there probably will be opportunities to. It would have to feel right for the character and I know they would probably do it justice," she told Entertainment Weekly.

Benoist continued: "I love playing with Grant Gustin. I love Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch on Superman & Lois. So no, I'm not opposed to it."

Echoing this sentiment, co-star David Harewood implied that he would be willing to reprise his fan-favourite role Martian Manhunter in a future story, marking the imminent release of the series finale with a social media post.

It reads: "It’s been a joy bringing J’onn to life these past 6 years. Thank you for all the lovely tweets and messages. Maybe I’ll suit up again someday down the line."

Longtime viewers are in for a treat in the two-part finale, titled The Last Gauntlet and Kara respectively, as several characters are returning to the series after time away – including original stars Mehcad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan.

The synopsis reads: “In the epic series finale, Supergirl is joined by familiar faces from the past to help her stop Lex and Nyxly for good. Meanwhile, Alex and Kelly prepare to walk down the aisle.”

Here's everything we know about Supergirl season six.

When is Supergirl season 6 on TV?

Supergirl season six premiered in the UK on Thursday 1st July 2021 on Sky One. The superhero show is also available on-demand through NOW.

Unfortunately, viewers over here are considerably behind on our friends across the pond, as the series has been on a mid-season break since early September – a return date is still to be announced.

Kara Danvers returned in the United States on 30th March for seven episodes, before taking a mid-season break until August 2021, with the series finale set to air tonight, Tuesday 9th November 2021 on The CW.

It was no easy feat producing this last hurrah amid a pandemic, with The Hollywood Reporter stating in September 2020 that Supergirl was one of several programmes affected by a COVID-19 testing backlog in Vancouver.

There were fears this could impact Supergirl's schedule, which had already been paused to accommodate Melissa Benoist's pregnancy, but ultimately it did not prove to be a major setback. Phew!

Supergirl cast

Melissa Benoist returns as Kara Danvers, better known as Supergirl, alongside her nemesis Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer).

Also, expect to see series regulars Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers), David Harewood (Martian Manhunter), Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor), Jesse Rath (Brainy), Nicole Maines (Nia Nal/Dreamer), and Azie Tesfai (Kelly Olsen) return for the final chapter.

The show will be welcoming some new faces for the sixth season, with Roswell's Jason Behr cast as a mysterious famous Kryptonian and American Crime Story's Claude Knowlton set to play a mild mannered alien with a tragic past.

Some older faces also reappear for the show's final outing, including Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen, Jeremy Jordon as Winn Schott, and Chris Wood as Mon-El.

"The last week on set was really intense, really emotional, really joyful and fun. We had a lot of cast come back and playing with those guys again made me really happy," Benoist told Entertainment Weekly.

"There were days where it was the big group, everyone that I've just loved so dearly that has become like family. Those days were great," she added.

Another character we know is returning is Cat Grant – but not as you remember her. While Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart memorably portrayed media mogul Cat in the show's early seasons, newcomer Eliza Helm will play a younger version in the fifth and sixth episodes of season six.

It seems the cast of Supergirl will be helping out behind the camera also – Azie Tesfai has made history as the first Arrowverse cast member to co-write on a show, while John Diggle actor David Ramsey is directing five episodes in the franchise, including an instalment of Supergirl.

Supergirl season 6 trailer

The trailer mostly seems to be footage from the premiere, which sees the Superfriends gathering to defeat a now all-powerful Lex Luthor – with Kara realising there may only be one way to truly defeat him.

Is Supergirl season 6 the final season?

Sadly for fans, it is indeed. The CW announced in late September 2020 that the long-running superhero series would come to an end in its sixth season, allowing the writers time to pen a fitting conclusion to Kara's story.

Star Melissa Benoist reacted to the news in a heartfelt Instagram post reflecting on her time in the role, and promising "one helluva final season".

"To say it has been an honour portraying this iconic character would be a massive understatement," the statement begins. "Seeing the incredible impact the show has had on young girls around the world has always left me humbled and speechless.

"She’s had that impact on me, too. She’s taught me strength I didn’t know I had, to find hope in the darkest of places, and that we are stronger when we’re united. What she stands for pushes all of us to be better. She has changed my life for the better, and I’m forever grateful.

"I’m so excited that we get to plan our conclusion to this amazing journey, and I cannot wait for you to see what we have in store. I promise we’re going to make it one helluva final season."[sic]

Fortunately, this being the highly interconnected Arrowverse, it would be difficult to entirely rule out some Supergirl cameo appearances in the future – perhaps in the Superman and Lois spin-off?

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.

What will happen in Supergirl season 6?

It's possible that the writers knew Supergirl was winding down and so chose to save their final Luthor confrontation for the climactic ending, as John Cryer told People TV some big plot changes were made during the COVID-19 shutdown.

He said: "They’re writing a whole bunch of new stuff around it... Which is interesting because the way my character was thwarted now doesn’t happen anymore. So I was like, ‘Oh, did I not get defeated? Wait a minute, I like this!'"

Season five ended with Brainiac near death after sacrificing himself to stop Lex Luthor using the Obsidian to brainwash half the world. The season six premiere will be titled Rebirth and see the Superfriends take on Gamenmae and Lex - which as the episode's title suggests will have big repercussions for Kara.

"She is going to really sacrifice her life and put her life on the line to save her friends and humanity," co-showrunner Jessica Queller told Entertainment Weekly. "That challenge, she's going to face her mortality in a way we've never done on the show. That's really the focus of the first run of seven episodes.

"It's life or death stakes for Kara, and it's very introspective. So, all of the soul searching and taking stock of the past six years will happen in the beginning, and then she'll put it all into play in the second half."

Queller has also highlighted the role of Katie McGrath's Lena Luthor this season, who begins to feel like part of the group after reconciling with Kara.

"Lena is going to become a more integral part of the Superfriends this season than ever before," Queller continued. "So I think that's going to be really satisfying and have emotional resonance for her because she's always kind of felt like an outsider, not just with Kara's secret but with the whole group. Now she is going to be a full on insider, so that will change the dynamic for Lena and the group."

Episode 12 is set to be a landmark episode in more ways than one - not only is Azie Tesfai making history as the first Arrowverse cast member to co-write an episode, but her character Kelly Olsen will finally suit up as golden shield-wielding hero Guardian.

Kelly has used the iconic shield before, but will follow in her brother James' footsteps when she takes on the Guardian mantle in twelfth episode Blind Spot, which explores racial inequality and will see David Ramsey return as John Diggle and also direct the episode.

Co-showrunner Jessica Queller told EW: "That [has] been our plan since the beginning of creating that role. We just wanted to find the right context for it, and so it just evolved really beautifully in the context of the social justice stories we wanted to tell [in season 6]."

With the series finale looming, star Melissa Benoist told Entertainment Weekly that the showrunners allowed her to have an input into Kara's ending.

"I had one request, and it wasn't even something they were thinking about doing," Benoist told EW. "And they pitched me the end, and it's really lovely. It's a great ending. I feel fantastic about it."

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