CBS has released the first preview for its upcoming "Supergirl" series, and while the extended clip is a bit jarring in tone -- it starts as a rom-com and finishes with high-octane action -- it shows some promise, particularly from lead Melissa Benoist.

Benoist stars as Kara Zor-El, younger cousin of Superman, who was similarly jettisoned to Earth as their home planet of Krypton self-destructed. Now a twentysomething, Kara is living anonymously and has abandoned her powers, working instead as a meek assistant for a high-powered media maven (Calista Flockhart).

Some of the office scenes are particularly cringeworthy, bringing to mind the recent SNL parody of what a Black Widow movie may entail, especially when Kara is tongue-tied by a hot new coworker (Mehcad Brooks as Superman photographer Jimmy James Olsen). And the way Flockhart's Cat Grant snaps at our heroine is straight out of the "Devil Wears Prada" playbook (which was also referenced in the SNL sketch).

Still, Benoist seems tailor-made for the part, particularly when the action sequences kick in. She more than earns her Supergirl cape (fashioned by her coworker who's not-so-secretly in love with her, Winslow Schott, played by Jeremy Jordan), shining during the sequence where she saves her foster sister's (Chyler Leigh) falling plane. "Last night I embraced who I am, and I don't want to stop," Kara tells Winslow, deciding that she wants to use her powers after all, and, like her more famous cousin, help the world in the process.

The jury's still out on whether the series can strike a smoother balance between the two different worlds of the show (the clip really felt like it was for two separate series), but Benoist and the rest of the cast seem solid. We're willing to give this 'girl the benefit of the doubt for now.

Check out the preview below. "Supergirl" soars onto CBS this fall.

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