New HBO show Lanterns, based on the DC Comics Green Lantern character(s), drew an audience of 9.3 million viewers worldwide in its first three days. That makes it one of HBO Max’s five biggest series debuts ever and bigger than HBO’s other prestige DC show The Penguin.
That reads to me as an obvious hit for HBO and I’m sure all involved are very happy that it drew the audience size that it did. Critics seem into it as well, with the show registering 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and 71 on Metacritic.
And it’s weird, because I was of the understanding that superheroes were over with and audiences were “fatigued” by the genre. Meanwhile Spider-Man: Brand New Day just passed $2 billion at the box office, registering 90% on RT and 66 on Metacritic.
“Superhero fatigue” has once again been proven to not really be a thing. What has probably passed us by is the idea of shared universes of characters propping up the box office of films that audiences aren’t that keen on, though, to be level-headed about that, it was only really Marvel that had much success with that as a strategy.
I think it’s important to consider that the conditions that have kept superheroes popular as a genre for the past hundred years across movies, TV shows, comics, radio serials, novels, video games, and beyond have never really changed. People feel powerless in a world that can feel complicated and scary… there’s tremendous wish fulfilment fantasy seeing costumed heroes trying to make the world a better place.
On a tangent… should I check out some Green Lantern comics?
Good question.
A byproduct of the success of shows like this is that is does drive some viewers into comic book stores looking for books featuring these characters. I’d warn prospective Green Lantern readers that you won’t really find many Green Lantern books that share a similar spirit as the TV show – the only comparable era in the comics is a run from the mid-70s and that is a pretty dated read these days unless you’re super into comics.
But if you’re keen, maybe something to check out is a recent book series called Human Target. You might know Human Target from a two-season 2010 action adventure TV show starring Mark Valley, or the very-quickly cancelled 1992 version starring Rick Springfield.
The 2021 Human Target comic was written by Tom King, one of the co-creators of the Lanterns TV show and does what Tom king does, which is to deconstruct long-established comic book characters. With Human Target, he shifts the main character Christopher Chase into a detective noir-coded story (it really doesn’t matter if you don’t know anything about Human Target) where he is butts up against a number of DC superheroes, including a prominent and shocking role for Guy Gardner (a Green Lantern character we saw in the Superman movie last year and will again be seen in Lanterns in the coming weeks).
The vibe is aligned pretty well with the Lanterns TV show.
News Desk
Heated Rivalry won Program of the Year at the 2026 TCA Awards, while Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay was the night’s biggest winner with three trophies. Read: Deadline
Beef star Steven Yeun will lead and produce Pagans for Netflix, a supernatural drama about a widowed father whose young daughter turns out to be something far more sinister. Read: The Hollywood Reporter
Netflix and AMC have greenlit Bannerman — their first co-production — a Shane Black-penned spy drama based on John R. Maxim’s novels, about a covert operative who convinces elite assassins to retire to suburban Connecticut. Interestingly, Netflix will handle distribution outside the US, with AMC sharing distribution in territories like Australia and New Zealand. Read: Variety
Prime Video has renewed YA drama Sterling Point, from creator Megan Park and starring Ella Rubin, for a second season after a No. 1 global debut. Read: The Hollywood Reporter
HBO Max’s The Pitt has added seven recurring guest stars for its third season, including Chris Diamantopoulos, Hannah Ware, and Brent Sexton. Great – another opportunity to load up IMDB to figure out exactly where I know Chris Diamantopoulos from. Happens every time that guy is on screen. Read: Deadline
Sega’s Golden Axe animated series, with Matthew Rhys voicing grumpy battle dwarf Gilius Thunderhead, premieres on Paramount+ on 16 September. Read: Deadline
The legendary sketch series SCTV is finally coming to streaming, arriving on Netflix from September 1. Read: ScreenCrush
Seth Meyers has launched A Closer Look: Out of Office, a video podcast with writer Sal Gentile revisiting the news during Late Night‘s seven-week summer hiatus. Read: Deadline
GTA 6 leaks have worsened for Rockstar, with fresh footage suggesting the leaker has access to a playable build of Grand Theft Auto VI — confirmed by the copyright strikes Rockstar has filed on the videos. Read: Polygon
July 2026 was the worst July for US console sales since the 2020 pandemic, with hardware spending down 29% as component-crisis price hikes bit — Switch 2 led units, ahead of PS5 and Xbox. Read: Polygon
CBS will air Daughters of 9/11 on 11 September, a two-hour special marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks that follows two victims’ daughters in their decades-long search for justice. It has been 25 years… Read: Variety
Trailer Park
Yellowjackets returns for its fourth and final season on Paramount+ on Nov 20.
Line of Fire debuts on NBC Sept 21.
A family of law-enforcement agents from different federal agencies work cases together, until a conspiracy threatens their own safety and tests their loyalties.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story debuts on Netflix on Sept 17.
Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology turns to the 1892 Fall River murders and Lizzie Borden — accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe — the first woman at the series’ centre.
The Terminal List returns for season 2 on Prime Video on Oct 21.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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