Rachel Maddow joins Batwoman, but with a catch

The Hollywood Reporter

The MSNBC political commentator will take on the role of Batman comic book character Vesper Fairchild in multiple episodes, starting with Sunday's premiere. "I know no one's going to believe this is true, but it's true," tweeted Maddow. "I'm 'Vesper Fairchild' in the new Batwoman TV show that starts this Sunday night on The CW. (My character is soooo not me; turns out playing her is one of the most fun things I've ever done)." According to The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg, "Fairchild is a television and radio personality who had a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne (Batman). The Batwoman catch is that Maddow's Fairchild will never appear on screen — at least there are no current plans for her to do so. Still, Maddow is expected to 'appear' in multiple episodes." As Goldberg notes, Maddow has a previous connection with the Batwoman character, having written the introduction to Greg Rucka's 2010 Batwoman graphic novel Elegy. "We consider Vesper Fairchild to be the sardonic Voice of Gotham," Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries tells The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. "In addition to Rachel’s interest in Batwoman, we thought she’d be the perfect casting choice because her own hard-hitting journalism wildly contrasts Vesper’s penchant for snark, gossip and criticism of female superheroes."