Advertisement

Greatest American Hero reboot taps its new star

Hannah Simone is believed to be the first female of color to play a TV superhero.
 
Published Feb. 13, 2018

Believe or not, Hollywood seems committed to rebooting The Greatest American Hero and has finally picked its new lead star: Hannah Simone from New Girl.

Simone will play the reluctant superhero made famous in the '80s by William Katt. (Of course, the theme song's popularity didn't hurt either. God bless Mike Post and Joey Scarbury.)

Deadline.com reports that Simone will play a 30-year-old Indian-American woman who loves tequila and karaoke before visiting aliens leave behind a magical suit that gives her superhero powers.

Simone has played the BFF to Zooey Deschanel in TV's New Girl the past seven seasons, but that series is starting to wrap up. It's believed Simone will be the first female of color to play a superhero on TV.

Simone, 37, was born in London but grew up in Canada. She has worked as a fashion model and TV host during her early career.

The original Greatest American Hero ran three seasons on ABC in the early '80s.