Season 1 – Lanterns

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Season 1 – Lanterns

Next Ep Aug 23

Drama

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

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Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

48 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Based on the DC comic "Green Lantern," drama series "Lanterns" follows new recruit John Stewart and "Lantern" legend Hal Jordan. These two intergalactic cops are drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. In association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, the HBO series provides a fresh live action take on the popular universe and its characters. Emmy nominee Chris Mundy serves as showrunner and executive producer for this original detective story.

Critics Consensus

Lanterns lights the way to a controlled and fantastical escape, in which Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre bring audiences into their world of wonder through fearless performances, grounded writing, and charismatic chemistry.

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Dennis Perkins

AV Club

It’s the simmering conflict between Hal and John that truly powers Lanterns.

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Judy Berman

TIME Magazine

Lanterns does finally get to a more sophisticated place midway through the season, casting new shades of meaning on its John-Hal dichotomy through secondary characters, their varied relationships with fear, and the passage of time.

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Jared Richards

The Age (Australia)

3/5

It’s a balanced blend of cheesy one-liners, engaging action and emotional depth, with lots to love for fans of DC or superhero stories more broadly.

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Josh Davis

Pop Culture Leftovers

10h

Lanterns is a slick, confident, sturdy riff on True Detective. But a line from Jurassic Park comes to mind: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

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Dominic Griffin

Looper.com

8/10

"Lanterns" feels like something very necessary for the future of the DCU, especially its shaky state post-"Supergirl" and with the Paramount merger looming. Thankfully, it's an entertaining and engrossing proposition...

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Meghan O'Keefe

Decider

Lanterns is HBO’s next must-see Sunday night blockbuster and DC Studios’ latest creative win. It’s a meditation on legacy, community, and the very nature of fear. More importantly, though, it’s a real fun time.

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Nick B

@RT15091350 37m

Looks like a fun gritty detective movie with a darker theme of a Super-Hero background.

Evan B

@eleveneleven 47m

What. A. Pilot. Kyle chandler as Hal Jordan is phenomenal while we can clearly see the stakes are larger than ever.

K D

@RT96831087 1h

It's an OK show that would be better if it wasn't a superhero show. Viewers should have to drink a shot every time Hal Jordan calls John Stewart "Junior". It was boring writing to make all four locals related to one another. And it's weird that everyone in the show KNOWS aliens exist, but then have such a hard time believing that Green Lantern could spot an alien. Because the plot deviates from an accurate characterization of Hal and John, it gives a feeling of a boilerplate script that was modified to change the buddy-cops to two Green Lanterns. Maybe the rest of the episodes will fix the profound missteps of this underwhelming pilot, but it seems unlikely. It's easy to make a trailer out of the 20-30 good seconds per episode. True Detective S1 was so much better and while I realize Lanterns aims for the McConaughey-Harrelson dynamic, it misses the mark. The acting is solid in service to a weak script, but the final twist is solid. I wish Lanterns was better and I liked it more.

Ali A

@RT32718521 1h

The writing was absolute banger, Hal Jordan was hilarious and funny and the twist at the end is an absolute banger.

Luis S

@Lsilva127 1h

First episode was awesome, dialogue and pacing was great and the dynamic between Hal and john was incredible! Can't wait to see more!!!

Hiu H

@RT67100440 1h

I just watched the new Lanterns, and honestly, it was really good and definitely something worth looking forward to. It gave me a bit of a True Detective vibe, and I’m really excited to see where the story goes next. John and Hal are both played so well.

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Aaron Pierre

John Stewart

Kyle Chandler

Hal Jordan

Nathan Fillion

Guy Gardner

Kelly Macdonald

Kerry

Laura Linney

Actor

Garret Dillahunt

William Macon

Episode 1

Aired Aug 16, 2026