DC Comics is going to be venturing into what is, basically uncharted territory this year with NBC's Powerless, a new sitcom about a group of employees working at Wayne Security, trying to develop technology and gadgets that will help protect everyday citizens from the mayhem of the superpowered titans operating within their city. That wasn't the original premise of Powerless, of course, which was initially going to focus on a group of insurance adjusters who grew tired of having to put up with the casualties and hurdles that superheroes cause in their lives. Following the departure of showrunner Ben Queen, though, the series was drastically retooled and the pilot reshot to conform to its new premise.

The series' cast remained the same throughout the changes, however, and remains fairly impressive heading into its premiere next week. In addition to Vanessa Hudgens as the lead in Powerless, Emily Locke, the series also boasts a batch of veteran comedic actors in the supporting roles; including Danny Pudi, Ron Funches, Alan Tudyk, and more.

Ahead of the premiere too, a new clip from Powerless has been released online, following Pudi's Teddy as he gives Emily a formal introduction and tour of the lab at Wayne Security - at the same time, introducing her to the other employees she'll be working with. There's even a quick glimpse at the kinds of zany inventions that fans can expect to see Emily and her friends develop throughout their time at Wayne Security, plus the first seeds being planted for an apparent feud between Bruce Wayne's company and Lex Luthor's LexCorp. Check out the clip for yourselves, above.

Predictably, both Pudi and Funches are able to roll through the comedy and banter in this clip with ease, while Hudgens' legitimate joy and naivete as Emily Locke seems like it could add an interesting dynamic to the possibly jaded nature of the rest of the team. Notably, Emily's optimism doesn't seem like it could be any less different than how the character was written in the original Powerless pilot either; since both in this clip and in the other promos released so far, she seems much more open and positive about superheroes than she did in the show's original teaser and released plot details.

For any series, the sheer amount of drastic changes that Powerless has undergone could be cause for concern amongst viewers, but it also seems to be further proof of how aware both DC and NBC are of the success they could possibly find with it as well. After all, it's being marketed as the first sitcom set within an existing comic book universe - and with fun tongue-in-cheek references to DC comics that both general viewers and diehard fans can appreciate packed throughout, it could wind up being a smash hit... if the network manages to find and perfect the right tone for it, anyways.

Powerless premieres on NBC on Thursday, February 2nd @ 8:30pm ET/PT.

Source: NBC