HBO’s Lanterns Tops Streaming Charts

HBO offers a varied catalog ranging from grounded dramas like The White Lotus to comedies like The Chair Company. In 2026, science fiction and fantasy have led the network’s slate. Game of Thrones fans received two series during the year, starting with the January premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and continuing with the summer return of House of the Dragon. Both productions earned positive responses from critics and viewers. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 will arrive next year, while the fourth and final season of House of the Dragon is expected in two years. HBO also plans to release the second season of Dune: Prophecy and debut its Harry Potter series on Christmas 2026.

Joining these major releases is Lanterns, the newest DC Universe series, which premiered on Sunday. The show holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an 86% score on the audience Popcornmeter. Viewership data from FlixPatrol shows Lanterns reaching the number one spot on HBO Max in the United States and third place globally.

What is Lanterns about?

Lanterns centers on trainee Green Lantern John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and his reluctant veteran mentor Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). Jordan resents having to train his eventual successor. When a mass shooting occurs in a small Nebraska town, Jordan suspects alien involvement and brings Stewart along to investigate. His instincts prove correct as the two space officers uncover local secrets and search for disguised extraterrestrials hidden among the townspeople.

In his review for Polygon, Corey Plante described Lanterns as “True Detective with superheroes.” He added, “In the best possible way, Lanterns also recalls the thematic heft of HBO’s Watchmen, which [Lanterns co-creator Damon] Lindelof developed. Both series use superhero mythology to examine the Black experience in America, especially the inherited trauma and the institutions that decide who gets to wield power.”

Did that surprising Lanterns twist really just happen?

[Ed. note: Spoilers for Lanterns season 1, episode 1 follow.]

The first episode concludes with a dramatic jump forward. The timeline leaps ten years from 2016 to 2026, bringing Stewart back together with Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald). At the football field where the 2016 shooting occurred, the two discover Jordan’s dead body covered in snow with his power ring missing.

Because the premiere establishes that alien beings can disguise themselves as humans, viewers might wonder if the corpse belongs to an imposter rather than Jordan. The creative team has stated that the death is genuine. Co-creator Damon Lindelof explained the decision to Collider:

“[Co-creator and writer] Tom [King] and I looked at each other when we were even kicking around the idea of killing Hal, and we were like, ‘We can’t do that. Everyone’s going to hate us. It feels gimmicky.’ But [co-creator and showrunner Chris] Mundy actually was like, ‘I don’t think that it does feel gimmicky. I think that it will actually infuse the entire story with a lot of emotionality.'”

Taking the creative team at their word, Jordan is dead. The remaining episodes are set to balance the 2016 investigation into the Nebraska aliens with Stewart’s 2026 inquiry into Jordan’s murder. Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) is scheduled to appear in the 2026 storyline. Both Stewart and Gardner will survive the events of Lanterns to appear in next year’s Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow.

 

Source: Polygon