Lanterns (2026): From Old Hand to Rookie

AUTHOR'S SCORE

It could be said that the new DC cinematic universe, one of Warner Bros’ biggest gambles of late, is off to an odd start. While the The Batman front, successfully carried by Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson, still has an uncertain place in the universe, the main universe — which had built solid momentum with Superman — also seems to have spent some of its credit with Supergirl. Given that, the success of the Lanterns series, which will see Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler sharing the lead roles, is of critical importance for the universe’s future.

AUTHOR'S SCORE

Is It a Good Green Lantern Adaptation?

Lanterns takes one of the largest-scale pieces of DC’s comics and uses it to tell a crime story set in rural America. Whether the series’ “realistic” approach is the right way to bring space cops who conjure bright green light constructs with power rings into the universe is debatable, but it hits HBO’s quality standard in every frame. It stands out more for its tightly assembled narrative than for its faithfulness to the source material. It gives its main characters meaningful journeys and lays the groundwork for stories that could later be explored in films. Its first season, made up of 8 episodes each running longer than 45 minutes, does a genuinely good job of introducing Green Lantern — set to become one of the leading figures of the DC universe — to viewers.

Just looking at the show’s creative team is really enough to set the right expectations for Lanterns. Showrunner Chris Mundy’s experience on shows like True Detective and Criminal Minds lets him convey the series’ story — built around a mass killing in Rushville, Nebraska — as effectively as possible. Damon Lindelof, whom you’ll remember from Lost and The Leftovers, oversees how the season’s mystery plot unfolds, while Tom King, one of DC’s favorite comic book writers of late, adds ties to the main universe and comic book references into the mix. What’s being told isn’t a wholly original story, and for the most part you can predict where the central murder plot is headed. But the chemistry between Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre successfully sells the “buddy cop” dynamic to the audience and boosts the series’ watchability.

Lanterns was already being criticized, from its very first trailers, for not being green enough. That criticism still largely holds in the finished series. If you accept that what you’re watching is, at the end of the day, a television show, and find the explanation the story gives for the ring’s sparing use reasonable, this isn’t that big of a problem. But if you’re expecting to see the Green Lantern you know from the comics, you’re likely to be disappointed. The visual effects sprinkled through the season are quite good and stay consistent with how the universe flows on the big screen. The series also makes you feel, through both its lighting and its cinematography, that you’re watching a high-budget production. It’s not easy to make a series set largely in Nebraska engaging, but they’ve managed to deliver striking visuals.

It Does Justice to Its Iconic Characters

Kyle Chandler’s performance as Hal Jordan is so good that it stings a little to accept he won’t be the universe’s true Green Lantern. Placing the character — older than his mainline continuity counterpart, unable to accept that he’s past his prime — into a mentor role adds extra depth to a portrayal that could otherwise have stayed flat. Both John Stewart and Hal Jordan are portrayed true to the essence of their comic book counterparts, but with certain changes. Even so, their personalities within the show stay consistent with what they’ve lived through and how they react to events. The small details in Aaron Pierre’s performance let him portray John Stewart as a likable character despite all his prickliness. But the one who perhaps most deserves applause for her acting in the series is Kelly McDonald, who plays the town’s cranky sheriff. Her character — who ends up sharing the screen with a duo that keeps getting in the way of her doing her job and defying her authority at every turn — is one of the biggest factors that makes the series feel real.

Lanterns’ writing feels more attuned to its episodic flow than we’re used to seeing in modern series. The early episodes in particular keep you curious about what’s next with their end-of-episode surprises, while the rising tempo as the season nears its finale keeps your interest in the central plot from slipping. The Macon family, added around Sheriff Kerry, and John’s parents offer characters who are enjoyable to follow, both for their clear motivations and for what they reveal as much as what they hide. This is, of course, not a flawless series. In particular, there are parts that may come across as pointless to viewers because it focuses on the bigger picture rather than letting you process what’s being told in the moment. But Lanterns manages to deliver a story that works within its own flow. You end up loving some sides of nearly all its characters and hating others. That, in turn, brings a nice twist to the classic good-versus-evil conflict and to the unwavering moral compass you’d expect from a “space cop” concept.

Lanterns makes a promising opening on behalf of the new DC cinematic universe’s HBO front. It shows that even a high concept like Green Lantern can turn into prestige television with the right approach, and it delivers an enjoyable season — even if not on the level of The Penguin. What’s more, it successfully fulfills its core function of introducing the Green Lantern mythos to the main universe and bringing John Stewart to viewers. Fans looking for one-to-one fidelity to the comics may come away disappointed, but as a work in its own right it promises a genuinely high level of enjoyment. The series is the clearest proof yet of what the right casting choices and a focused story can achieve in the hands of a good creative team.

To read more articles by Tuncer Haydarlar, click here.