Each week, fans tune in to Legends of Tomorrow to see where the team's latest adventures across space and time take them and what shenanigans they get into while they're there. What fans pay less attention to is the fact that Legends boasts one of the most diverse casts of characters on TV. Yet, Legends addresses issues of representation and difference in a matter-of-fact way that doesn't make the character's sexual, gender, racial or ethnic identities the thing that defines them.
At a recent press event, CBR spoke to the executive producers and cast of Legends about the show's diversity and how it's been baked into the series from the beginning.
The executive producers certainly recognize the importance of diversity on television. EP Grainne Godfree noted, "It's important to all of us to always be expanding representation..."
Yet, the choice not to make a big deal about their characters' differences is also important to the people behind the show. EP Keto Shimizu said that just as people are multifaceted in the real world, the people behind Legends want to ensure their characters are multifaceted too.
"That's really been important to us, I think, from the get-go, is to not let [the character's differences] define anybody," Shimizu said. "That is… part of them, it is important to them, but it's not their one thing... [All the characters are] flawed in really cool ways or have an interesting backstory or have a really fun personality to write. And... that's just the truth. That's just what they are. But it's not a big deal."
As an actor Maisie Richardson-Sellers has appreciated the opportunity to play the pansexual shapeshifter Charlie without the character's sexuality becoming the major focus of her storyline. "...It's really cool," Richardson-Sellers shared. "And I think it's also nice. I think so often queer characters are written whereby their queerness is the only thing that defines them… That is their one storyline, or you know that coming out with the tragedy of their queerness. It's so cool to have a character who just happens to be, that's not her main story, it’s just one facet of her multifaceted personality…."
In an era that has painted Muslims as villains, Legends can also claim an important first: according to Godfree, the character Zari was the first Muslim-American superhero on TV. Plus, in the show's most recent season, Tala Ashe, who plays Zari, is portraying a different version of her character, enabling the show to present two entirely authentic versions of what a Muslim American can be. For Godfree, the inclusion of Zari is especially personal.
"...my best friend growing up was Kashmiri, … she is Muslim American," Godfree explained. "And I particularly remember when 9/11 happened, and it seemed like there was this huge shift in our country about how we thought about and portrayed Muslims on television. And I've always, believed strongly that the Muslim Americans I know, they're just like us -- which is so silly to have to say....
"I do think also in our culture, and maybe even on TV, religion isn’t talked about, even having a Christian superhero is something that would be different," Godfree added. "So, I don't know, I think it's something we all really take seriously. We hired a Muslim writer to try to bring more authenticity. Tala [Ashe] really weighs in and has different pitches that we listen to. I mean, it is a blessing that we get to do this and it's a serious responsibility."
In a show that's known for taking few things too seriously, it's nice to know that the Legends team has put a considerable amount of thought into its depiction of diversity.
Airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow stars Caity Lotz, Dominic Purcell, Brandon Routh, Nick Zano, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Tala Ashe, Matt Ryan, Jes Macallan and Courtney Ford. The next episode, "Mr. Parker’s Cul-De-Sac," arrives March 10.