Lanterns: DC’s Brightest Day
By Jasmine Edwards
Lanterns (2026) is a solid entry into the ever-expanding DC Universe. Between Creature Commandos (2025), Superman (2025), and Supergirl (2026), it’s also the best installment in the streamlined universe yet. The first live-action series of the new Warner Bros. initiative, Lanterns delivers on the gritty front fans have come to expect from HBO’s prestige TV and more modern superhero genre projects alike. It knows when to be intense, when to be subdued, and when to acknowledge that super powers will always be a little cheesy.
Lanterns follows human “space cops”—Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre)—with extraterrestrial powers granted to them by will-powered rings, yet the limited series remains grounded on planet Earth. It has all the emotional intimacy, misunderstandings, and miscommunications audiences would expect from two men from very different backgrounds forced to work together to solve a small-town mystery.
Chandler and Pierre truly carry each episode. While the dynamic supporting cast members offer strong performances, Chandler and Pierre bring something stunningly authentic to their roles. In this adaptation, they are not written to perfectly match their comic counterparts, however, each actor embraces and embodies the character crafted for him, as well as the contentious, comedic, and caring relationship between them. Pierre, especially, is a refreshing protagonist. John Stewart’s flashback episode, “OutKast”, even garnered a staggering amount of views due to Pierre’s expert navigation of his fearless character.
Together, Chandler and Pierre commit to as many stunts as possible. That way, fans can see the feeling and fallout of every fight. The actors bounce off each other physically and emotionally, reminiscent of the greatest detective pairings on TV, such as Rust and Marty in True Detective Season 1 (2014). Part buddy-cop and mostly drama/thriller/mystery, Lanterns gives us another iconic, impactful duo who grow exponentially and then are gone too soon from our screens; there are no studio-confirmed plans or official announcements regarding a second season at this time.
Unfortunately, Lanterns also relies too much on homage, reference, and tribute. Whether that is to the original Green Lantern comics, Westerns and sci-fi greats, films like Ghost (1990) and Children of Men (2006), or the aforementioned True Detective, every plot decision feels familiar. The series plays it safe. It appeals to a large fanbase for marketing’s—and, let’s face it, for merch sales—sake. Besides a few interesting choices regarding family dynamics, casting, and set designs, there’s nothing that makes an audience gasp or scramble to connect the missing pieces.
Perhaps that’s unfair. Perhaps there is merit to a story we can follow easily. The twists and turns are continuous but not gimmicky, revealing tight storytelling and overarching narrative cohesion from pilot through finale. But it would have been nice to not predict everything, and nicer still to not tie everything up in a neat bow at the end via heavy-handed explanation.
A few of the middle episodes also stumble, which is ultimately the fault of a short episode order. Most audiences would agree that eight one-hour chapters is not enough to start and finish a full-fledged story, much less explore the nuance of the world and character motivations. Instead, Lanterns leans on dialogue-heavy exposition and breaks the cardinal rule of writing; it tells, not shows. It assumes you might be scrolling on your phone while you watch. That sort of constant talking works for Chandler’s arrogant, ditzy Hal Jordan, but doesn’t track for everyone else.
Still, I stand by calling Lanterns the best of the new DCU media. The makeup work on Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) is more realistic than any alien SFX we’ve seen in recent years. All teams, from costuming to production and more, were firing on all cylinders. With Clayface releasing October 23, we can only assume DC Studios and Warner Bros. are going up (up, and away!) from here on out.