Lanterns (TV Series): HBO's Green Lantern Mystery Explained

Lanterns is an eight-episode HBO drama from DC Studios, and it treats Green Lantern as a crime story first and a space opera second. It stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre, ran from August to October 2026, and became one of HBO's biggest recent launches.

What Lanterns is about

The series follows Hal Jordan, a veteran Green Lantern, and John Stewart, a new recruit. Both are intergalactic police officers, and both are pulled into an earthbound mystery when they investigate a murder in the American heartland. The case is set in Rushville, Nebraska.

The tone is closer to a prestige crime drama than a typical superhero show. Small-town secrets, family history and uneasy partnerships drive the plot. The power rings and alien politics sit in the background for much of the run.

The story moves between timelines, with flashbacks and flash-forwards filling in the backgrounds of the main characters. It is rated TV-MA in the US, so this is not a family-friendly entry in the franchise.

Cast and characters

The leads

• Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, also seen as a "Halogram".
• Aaron Pierre plays John Stewart, the newcomer to the Corps.
• Kelly Macdonald plays Sheriff Kerry Kane, who is a potential love interest for Hal.

Supporting players

Garret Dillahunt plays William Macon, a cowboy and one of the show's possible villains. Poorna Jagannathan plays Zoe Macon. Ulrich Thomsen plays Thaal Sinestro. Laura Linney is cast as one of the Guardians of the Universe.

The wider lineup includes Nathan Fillion, who returns as Guy Gardner after his debut in the 2025 film Superman. Jason Ritter, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones also appear.

Who made it

Chris Mundy created the series with Damon Lindelof and Tom King, and Mundy is the showrunner. HBO ordered it straight to series in June 2024 with eight episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran of DC Studios are executive producers. James Hawes directed the first two episodes and also executive produced. Stephanie Economou composed the score.

Production was first planned for Atlanta. It was later moved to Los Angeles, and the release date slipped from early 2026 to late summer.

Episode guide

The first season aired weekly on Sundays in the US, on HBO and HBO Max. The dates below are US air dates.

Critical reception

Reviews were largely positive. On Metacritic the series holds a score of 72 from 38 critics, with roughly three-quarters of those reviews positive and most of the rest mixed.

Critics singled out the chemistry between Chandler and Pierre and the grounded, character-led approach. Some felt the show shifted gear around the sixth and seventh episodes. One review said the back third was less compelling than the opening run, while still praising the ambition.

Another common complaint was that the series sometimes seems cautious about what a Green Lantern can do on screen. For a story built around a ring that can create almost anything, the spectacle is modest.

The finale

Early reviews of "Dirt and Stars" were warm. Several critics praised it for resolving its central story and for its emotional payoffs, even if the twists were easy to see coming. Sinestro's treatment drew some criticism.

Audience reaction was more divided. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score fell from 89 per cent to 70 per cent after the finale, with some viewers unhappy about the lack of action and the way John's story ends.

Viewing figures

HBO reported that the premiere drew 9.3 million global cross-platform viewers in its first three days. The company said that beat the launches of IT: Welcome to Derry, The Penguin and True Detective: Night Country.

The finale then set a series high of 10.5 million global viewers over three days, 7.2 million of them in the US. According to HBO, the season averaged 19.3 million global viewers and ranks among the top five series launches in the platform's history.

Where it fits in the DC Universe

Gunn and Safran's rebooted DC Universe is built around a mix of films and television. Lanterns is the franchise's most prominent drama series so far. It builds on the Green Lantern Corps introduced in Superman. The series also arrived shortly before the body-horror film Clayface.

You do not need to have seen the films to follow it. The murder mystery stands on its own, though comic fans will spot plenty of nods to the source material.

Will there be a season two?

No renewal has been announced. DC Studios co-head Peter Safran has said a second season will only go ahead if the team finds a strong enough idea, with a decision expected by the end of the year. The finale leaves room for more stories without depending on them.

The bottom line

Lanterns is a patient, adult and well-acted take on a hero who has struggled on screen before. It works best as a small-town mystery with two excellent leads, and less well when it tries to be a cosmic adventure. The whole season is on HBO Max, and a second series may follow if HBO and DC Studios find the right story.