DC's Stargirl, or simply Stargirl, is an American superhero television series created by Geoff Johns that premiered on streaming service DC Universe. It is based on the DC Comics superhero Courtney Whitmore, created by Johns and Lee Moder. The series follows high school student Courtney Whitmore who discovers the cosmic staff originally wielded by Starman and becomes the inspiration for a new generation of superheroes who become the new incarnation of the Justice Society of America.
DC Universe ordered the series in July 2018. Brec Bassinger was cast as Courtney Whitmore that September, with additional castings for her family members, the Justice Society of America, and the Injustice Society of America through February 2019. Filming for the series began in March 2019 in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Stargirl premiered on DC Universe on May 18, 2020; the first season consists of 13 episodes and also aired the following day on the broadcast network The CW. The second season, subtitled Summer School premiered on August 10, 2021, exclusively on The CW. The third and final season, subtitled Frenemies premiered on August 31, 2022.
Ahead of the series premiere, characters from the series were featured in a cameo during the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" through archive footage. It established Stargirl as existing on a parallel Earth to the Arrowverse. The show has received critical acclaim.
Premise One decade after most members of the Justice Society of America (JSA) are killed in battle against the Injustice Society of America (ISA), Courtney Whitmore, a high school student who moved to Blue Valley, discovers the Cosmic Staff of Starman and learns that her stepfather Pat Dugan used to be his sidekick. After encountering the remnants of the ISA which now include the mysterious Dragon King and his daughter Cindy Burman, Courtney becomes the inspiration for a whole new generation of superheroes and recruits Yolanda Montez, Rick Tyler, and Beth Chapel.
In the second season, Stargirl and the JSA contend with the re-emergence of former ISA member Shade and a mysterious entity known as Eclipso, who works with Cindy to create a new ISA called Injustice Unlimited. When Eclipso breaks free from Cindy's control, the JSA works to stop him and finds new allies in Jennie-Lynn Scott, Jakeem Williams, Thunderbolt, a rescued Charles McNider, a revived Starman, and former ISA members Solomon Grundy, Sportsmaster, and Tigress.
In the third and final season, the heroes and villains living in Blue Valley become embroiled in a murder mystery after former ISA member Steven Sharpe is found dead, while someone has been spying on them with cameras placed all over town. It turns out that a reconstituted Icicle was responsible as he is in league with the JSA's old enemy Ultra-Humanite and a surviving Dragon King.
Cast and characters
Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl:A high school student from Los Angeles who finds a powerful weapon, the Cosmic Staff, and becomes the superheroine Stargirl. As Stargirl, she also becomes the leader of the second incarnation of the Justice Society of America (JSA). In preparation for the role, Bassinger did not look at the character's previous portrayals by Britt Irvin on Smallville and Sarah Grey on Legends of Tomorrow because they were depicted as "older, more mature version[s]" of Stargirl. Bassinger added that the series follows the comic Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. more "in that she's young, high school, naive", which she wanted to bring that into her version of Stargirl. Maizie Smith portrays a five-year old Courtney. Yvette Monreal as Yolanda Montez / Wildcat II:A once popular student at Blue Valley High until a scandal made her an outcast and a disgrace to her Catholic parents. A skilled boxer, she becomes one of Courtney's friends and a member of the new JSA as the new Wildcat. Anjelika Washington as Beth Chapel / Doctor Mid-Nite II: A social reject and nerd who becomes one of Courtney's friends and a member of the new JSA as the new Doctor Mid-Nite. Cameron Gellman as Rick Tyler / Hourman II:A high school delinquent with anger issues and the son of the original Hourman whose parents were killed in a staged car accident when he was seven. He becomes one of Courtney's friends and a member of the new JSA as the new Hourman. Boston Pierce portrays a 7-year-old Rick. Trae Romano as Mike Dugan: Pat Dugan's son and Courtney's stepbrother. Jake Austin Walker as Henry King Jr. (season 1; guest season 2):A student at Blue Valley High as well as its star football player. He later develops psionic powers after experiencing emotional distress following his father becoming comatose. His deceased mother was Sylvester Pemberton's sister Merry. Meg DeLacy as Cindy Burman / Shiv:The daughter of the Dragon King, girlfriend of Henry King Jr. and the most popular student at Blue Valley High with enhanced abilities and wields wrist blades from her skin. While she is the school's cheerleading captain, she is determined to follow in her father's footsteps. In pursuit of this, she acquired a powerful suit of armor and a flame-throwing staff. In the second season, she teams up with Eclipso and forms a new ISA called Injustice Unlimited. In the third and final season, she wants to change her ways and joins the new JSA. Later, Cindy starts to manifest a reptilian form due to her father's experiments on her throughout her childhood. Neil Jackson as Jordan Mahkent / Icicle (season 1; recurring season 3; guest season 2):The leader of the Injustice Society of America (ISA), an "astute" businessman with the power of cryokinesis and founder of a firm called The American Dream that is responsible for the revitalization of Blue Valley. Jackson initially thought "Icicle" was "a silly name" and made the character sound "like a My Little Pony", but Johns' pitch helped make the character credible for Jackson. In the third and final season, Icicle had spent the following year reconstituting himself after he was shattered by Mike Dugan. Nine months earlier, he figured out that Starman's staff had imparted cosmic energy into him that was slowly healing his body. He therefore formed an alliance with the JSA's old enemy Ultra-Humanite and the surviving Dragon King to dig up his body and revive him. His plan was to transplant the Ultra-Humanite's brain into Starman's body to be his puppet that he would use to manipulate Stargirl and her JSA and become president as a mouthpiece for Icicle to enact his policies, since Starman was a beloved hero everyone admired, and the Dragon King's brain into the Ultra-Humanite's albino gorilla body for the former to "defeat" as Starman alongside Jordan's son. Christopher James Baker as Henry King Sr. / Brainwave (season 1; guest season 2):A member of the ISA with psionic abilities, the father of Henry King Jr. and a successful neurosurgeon at Blue Valley Medical Center. Baker stated that Henry King Sr. was the "mask" of Brainwave, as opposed to the other way around, believing Brainwave "is the true being". Amy Smart as Barbara Whitmore: Courtney's mother and Pat Dugan's wife who strives to balance her work and home life. After her marriage to Pat, she initially serves as a surrogate mother to her stepson Mike and also to Courtney's JSA teammates after discovering Pat and Courtney's secrets. Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E.:Courtney's stepfather, the former sidekick to Starman, and a mechanic who owns a repair garage where he stores a 15-foot robotic vehicle of his own creation made from spare car parts. Pat serves as a reluctant mentor and father figure to Courtney and her JSA teammates while using a garage called The Pit Stop as a front. Despite his superheroics, Pat wants to provide a normal life for his family. Hunter Sansone as Cameron Mahkent: A student at Blue Valley High, aspiring artist, and the son of Jordan Mahkent who was born with cryokinetic powers like his father. He and Courtney share a mutual crush. In the third and final season, Cameron learns the Justice Society's identities and that they're responsible for his father's apparent death. Roger Dale Floyd portrays a younger Cameron. Nick Tarabay as Eclipso (season 2; guest season 1): An entity trapped inside a black diamond that Cindy obtains. He plans to become a god by feeding on the negativity and darkness of the people on Earth. Milo Stein portrays Eclipso's form of young Bruce. Alkoya Brunson as Jakeem Williams / Jakeem Thunder (season 3; guest season 2): A gamer who is Mike Dugan's friend, the younger brother of Jenny Williams, and the current keeper of Thunderbolt's pen. Neil Hopkins as Lawrence "Crusher" Crock / Sportsmaster (season 3; recurring season 1; guest season 2):A member of the ISA who wields sports-themed weapons and believes that all of his targets are just part of a game to win. Crusher is the owner of a gym in Blue Valley called Ripped City, is married to Paula Brooks, and is the father of Artemis Crock. In the second season, he breaks out of prison twice. In the third and final season, he moves in next door to the Whitmore-Dugans. Joy Osmanski as Paula Brooks / Tigress (season 3; recurring season 1; guest season 2):A member of the ISA who hunts the world's most dangerous humans. She is a gym teacher at Blue Valley High, the wife of "Crusher" Crock, and mother of Artemis Crock. In the second season, she breaks out of prison twice. In the third and final season, she moves in next door to the Whitmore-Dugans. Joel McHale as Sylvester Pemberton / Starman and Gerard Shugel / Ultra-Humanite (season 3; guest season 1; recurring season 2):A member of the original JSA who used an anti gravity Cosmic Staff invented by scientist Ted Knight that Courtney later finds. In the present, Ultra-Humanite forms an alliance with Icicle and Dragon King before transplanting his brain into Sylvester Pemberton's body in order to manipulate Stargirl and her JSA, and Dragon King's brain into Ultra-Humanite's albino gorilla body for him to "defeat" as Starman alongside Jordan's son before intending to run for president as a mouthpiece for Icicle to spread his ideals.
Episodes
Season 1 (2020)
Season 2: Summer School (2021)
Season 3: Frenemies (2022)
Production Development In July 2018, DC Universe gave a series order to Stargirl, consisting of thirteen episodes. The pilot was written by Geoff Johns, who also executive produces alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Melissa Carter (who is co-showrunner with Johns). Production companies involved with the series are Mad Ghost Productions, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The series was said to be a "reimagining" of Stargirl. The CW renewed the series for a second season in July 2020, resulting in the series moving exclusively to the network as a CW original series. The second season is subtitled Summer School. Ahead of the second-season premiere, The CW renewed the series for a third season in May 2021. The renewal allowed the series to be co-financed by HBO Max, part of a larger deal between The CW and HBO Max. The third season is subtitled Frenemies. The CW canceled the show with the third and last season, ending on December 7, 2022.
Writing