CBS' New ‘Supergirl’ TV Series to Guest Star 'Ex-Superman' Dean Cain and 'Ex-Supergirl' Helen Slater in Season 1 Pilot

Dean Cain and Helen Slater have landed guest-starring roles on CBS' upcoming TV series Supergirl according to TV Line. Cain portrayed the Man of Steel/Clark Kent in ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, while Slater starred as Kara, the titular heroine, in the 1984 movie Supergirl. Both also guest-starred on the WB/CW Superman drama series Smallville, with Cain as the immortal Dr. Curtis Knox and Slater in the role of Clark Kent/Kal-El's Krypton mom Lara. Details on Cain's and Slater's roles in the pilot for the new Supergirl TV series have not yet been announced.

As previously announced by the network, Supergirl will star Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-el/Kara Danvers/Supergirl, Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen, Laura Benanti as Kara's birth mother Alura Zor-el, Calista Flockhart as Catco founder and Kara's boss Cat Grant, David Harewood as CIA agent Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman, and Chyler Leigh as Kara's foster sister Alexandra Danvers.

Supergirl has been developed for the small-screen by writers and producers Greg Berlanti and Allison Adler. According to the network, as reported by IGN, the series is described thus: "Based on the characters from DC Comics, Supergirl will follow Kara Zor-El. Born on the planet Krypton, Kara escaped amid its destruction years ago. And since arriving on Earth, she's been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be."

In January 2015, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler revealed the show would be a procedural, saying, "There will be [crime] cases, but what [executive producers] Ali Adler and Greg Berlanti pitched was a real series arc for her. The beauty of it is now with shows like Good Wife and Madam Secretary, you can have serialized story elements woven into a case of the week. She's a crime solver, so she's going to have to solve a crime."