‘Supergirl’ Season 2 Star Chyler Leigh Reveals Why She’s So Invested In Telling Alex And Maggie’s Story

If you have noticed how Chyler Leigh has been so invested in Alex and Maggie’s journey on “Supergirl,” that is because her desire to tell such a socially relevant story as an actress became much stronger after the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting.

“I am just so invested in telling this story the right way,” Leigh told TV Insider of her character Alex’s coming out story. “I found out about this storyline the night before the Orlando nightclub shooting. I woke up to that news and just started sobbing. [And] I thought, ‘My God, we have to do justice to a story that, in real life, affects so many people.’”

In fact, Leigh has been so eager to tell the story that she adamantly involved herself in casting the role of Maggie. “I was insistent on being part of the casting process,” Leigh revealed. “I had to know we got the right one. Floriana was the second girl to come in, and as soon as she walked in, I knew it was her. I could see her heart and there was something special about our connection.”

Leigh said that the fan response to Alex and Maggie’s love story has generally been great. “It has been such a wild ride and there has been an overwhelming amount of positive responses,” the 34-year-old actress said. “I mean, I’ll get little negative comments here and there, but I think that is more from the people who maybe don’t have that acceptance of what our world is today. But I’ve gotten thousands of messages and pictures from people telling me their stories. If this isn’t an amazing opportunity to speak to the heart of humanity as a whole and also touch people individually, I don’t know what is.”

Lima has also been grateful for the viewers’ positive reaction to the story they are telling. “Playing Maggie on #Supergirl makes me SO proud. Thank u ALL for the amazingly sweet messages. I see them all. And they make me SMILE,” she wrote on Twitter last month.

As for what fans can expect from Alex and Maggie’s romance in future episodes, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg previously told Entertainment Weekly that the pair’s relationship isn’t going to be smooth sailing. “There’s definitely some bumps,” the exec producer said. “Just because they are together now doesn’t mean it’s going to go smoothly.”

“It’s going to be funny, it’s going to be serious, it’s going to be romantic, it’s going to be heartbreaking,” Kreisberg added of the couple’s Season 2 storyline during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s going to be everything that any relationship that you see on TV, no matter what the gender, should and will be.”

“Supergirl’s” next episode (Season 2, episode 10) airs on Monday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.