LANTERNS: SEASON ONE
Starring: Aaron Pierre, Kyle Chandler, Kelly Macdonald, Poorna Jagannathan, Jasmine Cephas Jones, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Garret Dillahunt, Jason Ritter, and Laura Linney
Creators: Tom King, Damon Lindelof, and Chris Mundy
AMARÚ
Lanterns is the best thing James Gunn’s DC Studios has created so far, because while it is a superhero TV show, a crime thriller, and a murder mystery, it is a character piece above all. Led by the brilliant performances and chemistry between Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler, John Stewart (Pierre) and Hal Jordan (Chandler) are human, fallible, funny, and distinctly unique amongst their dozens of characterizations across mediums. They’re more than just Lanterns, and this show is more than just a DC show. With them and their equally formidable ensemble, it is great television with or without the rings.
ROBERT
With so much TV out there, you seek out reliability: in the creators, the actors, the genre, etc. After the shakeup with Warner Bros. and DC, it was telling they kept Lanterns on the docket, and a large part was the brain trust attached. Needless to say, the showrunners and the writers’ room composed a symphony of a season of television that is more concerned about what makes a hero than the tools they use or are gifted, and the three leads are the explosive nitroglycerin that completely wreck shop together. In brightest day, in blackest night…Lanterns is ALWAYS right.
QUENTIN
I hate to co-opt the most popular description of Lanterns, but there's really no better way to put it: superheroes wrapped in True Detective. The grounded murder mystery and Training Day-like dynamic between Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler, excelling as a charmingly roguish prick) and John Stewart (an understated Aaron Pierre, perfectly balancing Chandler) almost make you forget it’s a superhero origin story. It belongs in the conversation with The Penguin and Watchmen when talking about great comic-book television. As engrossing and exciting as Lanterns is, paired with the success of Peacemaker and even Creature Commandos, maybe James Gunn’s DCU should stick to the small screen.
KATIE
Lanterns is one of the best superhero shows I’ve seen. It’s a sci-fi crime thriller set in small-town America in the vein of True Detective, with a compelling mystery, well-developed characters, and engaging action. Crucially, Lanterns would succeed with or without its superhero elements due to the strength of the cast. Aaron Pierre has always been the standout performance in anything I’ve seen him in, and Lanterns is driven by the excellent chemistry between Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Pierre as John Stewart. Chandler is annoyingly charismatic and mischievously charming, whilst Pierre is composed and quietly capable, and their dynamic kept me invested in the story.
Want to hear even more of our thoughts? Amarú, Harrison, and Winston join Matt to take A Bigger Bite out of Lanterns HERE.