Star power

Actors Brec Bassinger and Luke Wilson on what makes their superhero series a little different…

- Steven Perkins

There’s no shortage of superheroes on our screens, but lately their stories tend to be dark and downbeat. Happily, Amazon Prime Video’s new drama Stargirl is bright, fun and full of optimism, just like its lead character.

The series follows high-school student Courtney Whitmore (rising star Brec Bassinger) as she moves with her family from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska.

In the basement of her new home, she finds some boxes that her stepfather, Pat (Legally Blonde’s Luke Wilson), has been hiding, containing memorabilia from when he was the sidekick to superhero Starman. Among the treasures is the Cosmic Staff, which has been waiting for a hero worthy of inheriting it – and it chooses Courtney!

Here, stars Brec, 21, and Luke, 48, talk saving the world…

How great is it to play a superhero who’s a normal teenage girl?

Brec: It makes a huge difference. I remember when