‘Supergirl’ EP on the Importance of Nia Coming Out as Transgender

On last week’s episode of Supergirl, the cultural climate of National City saw a major shift as the wave of anti-alien sentiment went mainstream. While all of the characters in The CW series had their own reactions, it prompted Nia Nal to speak her truth as a transgender woman and according to executive producer Robert Rovner, it was an important step for both the character and the show.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rovner broke down a bit about the episode “Fallout” and explained that Nia (Nicole Maines) coming out to James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) was an important part of her path to being a superhero.

“It’s very important for her to speak her truth,” Rovner said. “She chose him because it was relevant to the position she was trying to articulate. I think they have a great relationship. It’s great that we have James really taking control of CatCo in a stronger way this year. As Kara [Melissa Benoist] is a mentor to Nia, so is James.”

Described in the initial casting breakdown for the character, Nia is a “young Cat Grant type,” Nia has already reminded Kara of herself which is fitting considering that Nia will eventually become Dreamer, the first transgender superhero on television. The character is based on Nura Nal, the Legion of Super-Heroes member initially known as Dream Girl in comics. Dream girl was created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte in 1964 with the Dreamer identity debuting in a 1996 story by Tom Peyer, Tom McGraw, and Lee Moder.

Nia was also described as having a “fierce drive to protect others”, something that was also showcased in “Fallout” with Nia standing up for Brainy (Jesse Rath) when his image inducer failed and revealed his alien status to a bigoted pizza shop owner. However, that wasn’t the only tease of Nia’s future heroics. Nia falls asleep at her desk at CatCo during the episode as well, something Rovner noted was a direct nod to her future as Dreamer, but that wasn’t the only thing significant about Nia’s actions. Nia’s coming out to James was part of the season’s overall exploration of the real-world division and intolerance in the United States.

“The whole season we’re exploring stuff that is happening in our country and how Supergirl is dealing with a divided nation,” Rovner said. “How she can try and heal it? How people can speak up and speak out? Our country feels divided. Supergirl is a character that has always tried to use hope as a weapon to combat hate. We wanted to use that platform to create a dialogue about what’s happening in our nation and [show] how a character like Supergirl can speak to that. We’re exploring all sides of the issue. This might seem political, but what she’s speaking about is treating each other with kindness … some of the sides make things divisive, but Supergirl is looking for a way to unite people, not divide us.”

Supergirl airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.