As anyone who regularly reads comic books – or simply enjoys movies and television shows about the superheroes who normally inhabit the pages of those books – knows, even the most well-intentioned hero tends to cause some damage when battling the forces of evil. Property damage and unintentional casualties caused by super-powered scuffles have actually been a topic of debate for some time, perhaps reaching their conversational apex with the climactic sequence of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Other films, too, like Joss Whedon’s The Avengers and its sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron, featured blockbuster-sized sequences wherein Manhattan was devastated by an alien invasion and a megalomaniacal robot tried to drop an Eastern European city from high up in the atmosphere.
Needless to say: stuff gets busted up pretty good when super-powered fists start to fly. But while most fans are fixated on the spectacle of how all that damage is done, there are those who might wonder: Who’s going to be there when the regular everyday workin’ folk need their apartment fixed because a dude in a red cape smashed through the walls on his way to catch a bad guy? Who’s going to pay for the cars tossed around like so many LEGO bricks? How can one seek recompense when caught in the crossfire of an intergalactic dispute they’re not even a part of?
Well, to answer those questions – and hopefully provide a few laughs along the way – comes NBC’s Powerless, which, according to Variety, the network just announced has officially been ordered to series. The half-hour sitcom takes the usual workplace comedy scenario and adds a comic book twist, as the denizens of an insurance company just happen to exist within the confines of the DC Comics universe. Take a look at photos from the series below:
Read NBC’s official synopsis for the series below:
Joining Hudgens will be Alan Tudyk (Firefly) as her boss Del, as well as Danny Pudi (Community) as Teddy, and Christina Kirk (Girls) as Jackie, who are, presumably, Emily’s “quirky” co-workers. This being a rare sitcom set within the DC Comics universe, chances are fans will be wondering what other characters they can look forward to seeing throughout the first season. As previously reported, DC character Crimson Fox (Atlin Mitchell) will play a key role, though in what capacity is not entirely clear.
“In the first comedy series set in the universe of DC Comics, Vanessa Hudgens (“Grease Live,” “High School Musical”) plays 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 (after an epic battle messes with her commute) 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.”
The premise of Powerless sounds as though it could be a fun way to see the world of superheroes through a slightly skewed lens. Having the powered individuals take a backseat to regular people as they try to cope with the pervasive threat of falling buildings, blasts of heat vision, and whatever else happens when titans tussle could offer a genuinely funny framework to make this workplace sitcom something enticing and different from the standard fare. Besides, with a great cast and an early series order, Powerless will have a leg up on Damage Control, ABC’s potential half-hour comedy set against the backdrop of the MCU. There’s more than enough room for two sitcoms dealing with the regular-people problems of superheroes, but being first might make this idea a little more appealing to casual viewers.
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Screen Rant will bring you more details regarding Powerless as they are made available.
Source: NBC, Variety
