5 Sci-Fi Series to Watch If You Love HBO’s Lanterns

HBO’s Lanterns brings Green Lantern to television through the partnership between Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). Creators Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, and Tom King also helped renew interest in the franchise after the poorly received Green Lantern movie of 2011.

Pierre is slated to return as John Stewart in 2027’s Man of Tomorrow. In the meantime, these five series combine science fiction with mysteries and characters that may appeal to Lanterns fans.

5. Watchmen

Streaming on: HBO Max

Before Lanterns, Damon Lindelof brought another DC Comics story to HBO. He served as showrunner on 2019’s Watchmen, based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

The series is a sequel to the comic, set in a world changed by the actions of Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons). After an attack by the white supremacist group Seventh Kalvary, police officers are required to wear masks. One of them, Angela Abar (Regina King), is known in costume as “Sister Night.” She uncovers a mystery connected to her family and a key character from Watchmen.

Like Lanterns, Watchmen received a mixed response when it was announced. Moore’s displeasure with adaptations of his work was well known, and some fans questioned the need for another adaptation after the film. The series won over critics by building on the comic’s events and weaving real history into its story. Doctor Manhattan brings science fiction to the grounded drama.

4. Andor

Streaming on: Disney+

Lanterns has a different tone from other DC Studios productions such as Superman and Peacemaker. Andor takes a similarly distinctive approach to an established franchise.

Set before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the series follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he goes from thief to revolutionary in the growing Rebellion. The story also follows the schemes of Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and the struggles of Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly).

Andor stands apart from other Star Wars projects in its examination of the costs of rebellion. Cassian loses his mother, spends months in an Imperial prison, and is separated from Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), the love of his life. He also witnesses a genocide on Ghorman as the Empire strips the planet for material for the Death Star. Showrunner Tony Gilroy’s approach adds depth to Rogue One and the wider Star Wars universe.

3. Heroes

Streaming on: Netflix, Tubi

Before Marvel and DC characters dominated movie and television screens, shows such as Smallville brought superheroes to TV. Heroes reached a wide audience when it debuted in 2006. Its characters are ordinary people who discover powers such as flight and the ability to stop time. They begin to come together to avert an apocalypse, giving the show its tagline: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”

Heroes ran for four seasons, though its first is often regarded as its best. Its cast included future stars such as Zachary Quinto, and the show brought comic-book spectacle to television. Demand for popular characters disrupted creator Tim Kring’s plans to make Heroes an anthology, while the 2007 writers’ strike cut Season 2 short. Later seasons struggled to match the first.

2. Fringe

Streaming on: Pluto TV, Hulu, Prime Video

Fringe follows a secretive FBI division investigating cases connected to a parallel universe. Its central team consists of FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble), and Walter’s son Peter (Joshua Jackson). The science fiction grows more prominent as the series progresses, with a memorable reveal in the Season 1 finale, “There’s More Than One of Everything.”

Fringe used its parallel universes to explore identity and raise the stakes of its story. It became a successor to The X-Files for Fox and enjoyed a longer run than many of the network’s science-fiction shows. Creators J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman also rebooted Star Trek for the big screen, working with Leonard Nimoy.

1. Westworld

Episodes available to purchase on Apple TV and YouTube

HBO’s Westworld draws on the Michael Crichton movie of the same name. Set in the far future, it takes place in a Western-themed amusement park created by the Delos Corporation and populated by lifelike androids. The androids begin to gain free will and eventually turn on humanity.

The series is built around mysteries, including a “maze” within the park and the revelation that sentient “hosts” already exist.

Some critics and fans saw Westworld as a successor to Game of Thrones, but its trajectory came to resemble that of Heroes. After two well-received seasons, it lost viewers following Season 3, and Season 4 attracted less attention. The series was removed from HBO Max’s library in 2022. Episodes remain available to buy digitally, and the series is also available on DVD.

Source: Polygon