Lanterns Season 2 Is Not Greenlit Yet, and DC Promises an Answer by Year's End

HBO has not greenlit a second season of Lanterns. According to Cosmic Book News, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran said on October 14 that fans will learn the show's fate before the end of the year.

The ratings. The first season premiered on August 16, and its finale aired on October 4. The finale drew 10.5 million viewers worldwide over its first three days on HBO and HBO Max, a series high, according to Deadline's report as relayed by Cosmic Book News. In the US it reached 7.2 million viewers, also a series best. HBO says the season averaged 19.3 million viewers per episode worldwide, which it counts among its five biggest series launches, and that the premiere beat the openings of IT: Welcome to Derry, The Penguin and True Detective: Night Country. Separately, Warner Bros. Discovery said the series drew 9.3 million global viewers in its first three days, as reported by Cosmic Book News. Screen Rant notes that the show holds a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The renewal question. HBO chief Casey Bloys said before the finale that no Lanterns Season 2 was in development, and that HBO is very selective about continuing its DC shows. He was asked at the network's Emmy party in September whether anything else was active at DC, and answered that nothing was in development right now apart from The People v. Gorilla Grodd, a Jimmy Olsen mockumentary that has started shooting in Atlanta. He did not directly address a Lanterns follow-up. James Gunn confirmed the October 4 episode was a season finale, not a series finale, but did not say a second season was coming. After the finale, Cosmic Book News reported that Deadline says a renewal is pending at Skydance's HBO.

Showrunner Chris Mundy told The Hollywood Reporter in August that he and Christopher Cantwell were developing a possible second season on spec, with no scripts written at that point. By October 5 he said there was nothing official to share. Screen Rant reports that a writers' room has reportedly been opened, and that Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. could be complicating or delaying an announcement, though that has not been confirmed. You can read about the deal in our report on the merger.

Mundy also said James Gunn was busy with Superman when the show started and mostly gave high-level notes, trusting the writers with the story. He added that the death of Hal Jordan was planned from the start, and that Kyle Chandler knew about it before filming. Chandler, who plays Hal Jordan, and Aaron Pierre, who plays John Stewart, have both said they are at peace if there is no second season. Co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom King will not be part of a second season, because both are working on other series. For another measure of the show's reception, see our report that Lanterns has the lowest audience score of any DCU project.