While DC Comics continues to take the superhero world by storm, it is preparing to enter a new realm: the normal world.
NBC recently announced its pilot production commitment for “Powerless,” an office comedy documenting the lives of ordinary people living in an extraordinary world. The single-camera, half-hour show takes place in the DC Universe, but focuses on the lives of normal, everyday folks working at one of the worst insurance companies in America. The series will follow these powerless people as they deal with the superheroes and villains that surround them.
According to Variety, the main cast has been revealed to include Danny Pudi, Alan Tudyk , Christina Kirk, and Vanessa Hudgens. Pudi (best known for his role as Abed Nadir in “Community”) will play Teddy, who spends his time at work “creating time-wasting pranks as a way to make their office, the ‘least super place on earth,’ just a little less ‘unsuper.’” Tudyk (who is known for playing Dr. Noah Werner in “Suburgatory”) will appear as Del, the boss of the company’s claims department. Recently promoted because he is the owner’s son, Del is power-hungry, slightly crazy, and “a self-proclaimed ‘rich, over-educated globetrotting wastrel.’” Kirk will play Jackie, a superhero aficionado who is appointed Del’s personal assistant, but can hardly take the pressure of his unreasonable demands. Hudgens, whose casting was announced a week ago, is set to play Emily Locke, a kind and lovable insurance claims adjuster who actually enjoys her job, but begins to feel “increasingly exasperated by the disruptive antics of the various superheroes that proliferate in her city.”
A TV office comedy has never been done in the superhero universe before, making “Powerless” a true trailblazer. The show encapsulates “a world where superheroes are not only just on green screen out the window of this insurance office, but they’re also running into you on the street and wreaking havoc,” stated NBC’s Jennifer Salke. “The idea isn’t that it’s the crème de la crème of the superheroes. It’s a world where there’s a whole population of superheroes with all sorts of all challenges themselves. So you’re seeing quite a range of characters in that realm in addition to our great, kind of grounded human ensemble.”
The fresh new idea behind “Powerless” is sure to lead to a powerfully funny series.
Are you excited for “Powerless”? Who else do you hope to see cast in the series? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @CelebMix!