Like it or not, superheroes have become slowly but surely become a ubiquitous staple of film and television. Following a year when Deadpool and Suicide Squad turned the genre on its head to massive box office success, Powerless hopes to do the same on the television front. Despite being set in a superpowered world, its focus is on the everyday folks that are trying to survive it. A group of professionals working for Wayne Security have one job. They protect the innocent... by designing technology to make them immune to the threats of the superpowered.
Powerless has had something of a rough development period, dropping its original showrunner, premise, and pilot, before being reimagined in its current form. Hopefully, the formula they settled on works out. In a golden age of (superhero) television, audiences will need more than winks and nods to Batman in order to keep tuning in.
NBC has released an extended trailer for Powerless featuring a few repeat gags, and some brand new ones. If anything, it should give potential viewers their best chance yet at judging whether the show's pilot is worth a gander. With any luck, the cast, which includes such fan-favorites as Danny Pudi (Community) and Alan Tudyk (Moana) will bring a dedicated audience willing to give it a shot.
Via TV Line, executive producer Patrick Schumacker recently discussed what to expect from the show.
“We’re going to pull from the entire canon of the comics. We want to show as much of the breadth of the DC universe as possible. You’re going to see characters you’re familiar with if you are a big, hardcore comic book fan.”
Naturally, the show will have to draw more than just an intensely geeky audience to keep afloat, but it's nice to know that they're not forgetting the fans that got superheroes where they are today. With Schumacker also confirming that Powerless is set in its own, unexplored sub-DC universe, the show should be able to embrace a tone that's suitable for its subject material, without trampling on the continuity of CW's Arrowverse or the DCEU.
Has the latest look at Powerless convinced you that the latest child of the superpowered genre is worth a look? Let us know in the comments section, and stay tuned to Screen Rant for more updates and impressions about the series as they hit.
Powerless will premiere on NBC on Thursday, February 2nd @ 8:30pm ET/PT.