CW's cancelation spree in May, and it has a lot to prove as the network reinvents itself. Thankfully, the show's strengths are all shining in the newest season, as friendships and family are tested by a new threat.
Stargirl was introduced as the seventh Arrowverse show, but it will soon be one of the last ones standing, as The Flash finishes its final season next year. With so few shows like Stargirl currently running, fans might need to turn to older shows to get the elements they love, looking for the themes of found family, identity, and heroism in different forms than they might expect to find them.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993-1996)
Stream On Netflix
the massively-popular Power Rangers franchise. After an alien sorceress is set free, a team of five teenagers is granted enhanced abilities to fight her off and save the Earth. They also deal with normal teenage problems alongside their missions and form a powerful team with a long legacy ahead of them.
The team's development is bound to be appealing to those who enjoy the ensemble storylines in Stargirl over those that exclusively focus on Courtney, and it's amazing to look back on the series to see how much it influenced super-powered teams thirty years later.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016-2022)
Stream On Netflix
DC's Legends of Tomorrow was the forgotten sibling in the Arrowverse, but its unique position allowed it to embrace the more absurd elements of comic book characters. The show began with the premise that the least significant heroes from the Arrowverse had been gathered to change the future, though their missions changed each season.
Legends of Tomorrow created a team out of heroes and villains alike, uniting them with mutual goals. Though they struggled early on, the team managed to work despite its having vastly different backgrounds, morals, and behaviors. Those who have delighted in the way Courtney has tried to give former villains a chance will find Legends of Tomorrow to be a fully-developed version of that same ideal.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020)
Stream On Netflix
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power follows Adora, an orphan who was raised as part of the tyrannical Horde. She discovers a magic sword that transforms her into the mythical She-Ra, and unites with other princesses to bring peace to the world.
Courtney is a beacon of hope in Blue Valley, and She-Ra is the same for her world. Despite Adora having doubts, her alter-ego is pure light, fixing things people had expected would always be broken. For those who get excited by how much Courtney believes in Cindy, the journey Adora and best friend/nemesis Catra go on will be extremely satisfying.
Legacies (2018-2022)
Stream On Netflix
Hope, the world's only vampire-werewolf-witch Tribrid, and siphoner twins Lizzie and Josie as they try to survive and thrive at their supernatural boarding school.
Both Stargirl and Legacies follow teenagers with extraordinary abilities as they try to manage both epic battles and ordinary teenage lives. Likewise, just as Courtney and the other JSA have to live up to the heroes who came before them, Hope and her friends are responsible for showing that they can be examples of the bright future their parents fought for.
The Umbrella Academy (2019-)
Stream On Netflix
The Umbrella Academy follows a group of adoptive siblings who were raised as superheroes, which gave them an unusual understanding of family and their place in the world. When they learn about an impending apocalypse, they have to team up to try to stop it.
On top of the superpowers and global threats, both shows are about family at their core. Stargirl provides a unique look at different kinds of superhero families and the even more complicated villain families. For those who enjoy seeing this side of the show, The Umbrella Academy provides audiences with characters who are technically family, but have lived very different lives.
Scream Queens (2015-2016)
Stream On Hulu
Scream Queens follows the and pledges of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority as they were targeted by a serial killer. The slasher elements were supplemented by the parodic angle the show took, keeping audiences simultaneously interested in learning who the killer was while also wanting to see the absurdity of their next attack.
A major theme in the first season of Scream Queens, like the first season of Stargirl, was the idea of children of absentee parents searching for some trace of their parent's backstory. Protagonist Grace looks for evidence that she is the mythic baby in the bath, just like Courtney desperately searched for proof that her father was Starman.
Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)
Stream On Disney+
one of the best fairytale adaptations out there.
Stargirl's season 3's subtitle "Frenemies" is the perfect description for Once Upon A Time, where the heroes and villains of classic fairytales live together in a small town. Like Blue Valley, Storybrooke mimics the classic American small town, but that environment (and the heroes' hopeful attitude) is precisely what makes it possible for the villains to attempt rehabilitation.
Runaways (2017-2019)
Stream On Disney+ & Hulu
Marvel's the Runaways characters make their way to the MCU.
The majority of the JSA in Stargirl are the children or successors of heroes, but the show has always shown the possibility for the children of villains to become heroes themselves. For those who wanted nothing more than to see a world where Henry, Artemis, and even Cindy were able to prove themselves to the JSA, Runaways is a must-see series.
Young Justice (2010-2022)
Stream On HBO Max
Young Justice follows the first generation of Justice League sidekicks as they attempt to prove themselves as heroes in their own right. They begin as teenagers, but the show follows them into adulthood as they establish systems to and protect rising heroes and sidekicks. Robin, Superboy, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, and Artemis have to learn to work as a team and negotiate their own space in the hero business.
For those who love Stargirl, Young Justice should be a perfect fit. It's a story about teenage heroes managing their place between the heroes of the past and the future they want to build. Both shows masterfully balance darkness and light, and provide hope for a better future. Also, characters like Courtney Whitmore and Artemis Crock are highlighted in Young Justice, though their backstories are different.
The Secret Circle (2011-2012)
Stream On The CW
The Secret Circle was a CW show based on books by L. J. Smith. After her mother dies, Cassie moves to Chance Harbor, Washington, where she discovers that she comes from a line of witches, becomes a part of the town's teenage coven, and has to keep the group from giving in to their darker impulses.
Like Stargirl, The Secret Circle is an ensemble show that presents a lot of different ways that teenagers can use their powers. Their parents have some major secrets that get in their way, but the coven repeatedly finds their way back to each other, just in time to keep evil at bay. The show deals with the same themes of family, morality, and legacy that Stargirl does and is likely to be a great fit for anyone who wants to see those ideas approached in a world without superheroes.
