When Supergirl returns to The CW on Monday, fan-favorite writer/director Kevin Smith will helm the 2017 premiere, titled "Supergirl Lives."

And just moments ago, Smith told ComicBook.com that he will return for a second episode this season -- the as-yet-untitled seventeenth episode of the season.

The turnaround will be tight: He was filming Supergirl the week of Halloween when ComicBook.com visited the set of the hit CW series, and will be back in late January after he spends the next week or so at the Sundance Film Festival, where he will serve as master of ceremonies for IMDb, not unlike what he did at Comic Con in 2016. "Monday, the episode of Supergirl that I directed airs, which is thrilling," Smith said. "I got to Sundance tomorrow and I'm up there for IMDb all week, come home Tuesday, then a few days after that, I go up to Vancouver again to direct another episode of Supergirl."

Smith said that midway through the episode, producers started feeling out his schedule. Ultimately, they offered him episode 17, which he described as "sweet," saying that it was nice that producers liked the job he was doing enough to bring him back within the season. "I fell in love with everybody up there, so it was easy to say 'yeah,'" Smith said. "It takes something special to make you put aside your own shit when you're creative. When you have the ability to make the stories you want to make, it's fun to watch other people's stories, it's just way more fun to make your own. So whenever you put your shit aside, it has to be for something worthwhile. Working on Supergirl is like a month of your life, but I'd give it up in a heartbeat because the last experience I had was so rewarding and I was so happy with what we did. I like all the people up there, and I believe in the show in a big, bad way. It's incredibly warm. It's just well-made entertainment, and it's got something to it. It's a little nourishing, it's not just fast food. There's always some heart to it."

Smith praised the production team at The CW as well, saying that while he enjoyed Supergirl on CBS last season, the show has leveled up on The CW and is fulfilling its potential.

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The midseason premiere of Supergirl — which is titled "Supergirl Lives" and directed by Smith — will air Monday, January 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.