Katie McGrath on How 'Supergirl' Courts Controversy and the SuperCorp Shippers

10/16/2017 09:59 pm EDT

Never let it be said that Supergirl -- or the title character's best gal pal Lena Luthor, played by Kate McGrath -- shies away from controversy.

The hit CW series is probably the most socially conscious and overtly political superhero show that has ever aired on a broadcast network, and while it sometimes rubs Twitter the wrong way as a result, it seems most fans of the series wouldn't have it any other way.

"Because this is a word slightly altered from reality, the writers are able to take more liberties with their scripts," McGrath recently told ComicBook.com. "There are things that come up in this show that are much more topical, and we get away with doing, than you necessarily would on another show. Everything Cat Grant says, you're like 'that woman is amazing!' But because people don't expect it from a show about aliens, we are able to be far more intelligent than people expect."

Overtly feminist messaging has been part of the show since the pilot, and the series has frequently waded into political waters that might alienate some viewers -- but the feeling seems to be that a point of view is a big part of what differentiates Supergirl from other superhero shows on TV, and what helps keep the series' fan base passionate.

"People less question a woman being stronger than a man on this show, because it's a show about Supergirl," McGrath said. "It's the DNA of what we're doing and I think that gives us a license to be able to discuss things in greater depth than other shows necessarily can."

Arguably some of the most passionate Supergirl fans are the "SuperCorp" shippers, fans who want to see Lena and Kara in a romantic relationship. While some members of the cast have dismissed that segment of the audience (causing a minor uproar at Comic Con), McGrath -- who says she is very grateful for how supportive they have been of her -- has a different take.

"I feel like what we do is art, and it's the same as painting a picture and one person sees a sunflower and another sees a kettle: that's the point of art, is that you take away from it what you see," McGrath said. "That's their response to the show and that's what's important to them. If anything, the fact that we can create such passion in people is amazing. When I meet people who ship Lena and Kara, I'm not going to, and I know nobody else on the show is going to, deny them that. We make the show, and the viewers watch it, and it becomes their show once they watch it….Once we finish a day, for me, it's no longer mine; it's theirs."

Supergirl airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

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