One of the most highly-anticipated TV shows of the year lands on HBO and HBO Max this weekend. Lanterns, from the creators of Ozark and Lost, promises to blend the gritty intrigue of True Detective with the cosmic superhero adventures of the DC Universe. It’s an intriguing premise, and the show’s stellar cast makes it even more exciting.
The series stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, Earth’s one and only Green Lantern, and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, his understudy and grudging trainee. The two find themselves enmeshed in a cosmic conspiracy involving nefarious ranchers, mysterious aliens and murder.
Read on for everything you need to know about Lanterns, including the premiere release time and date, the full Season 1 release schedule and what to expect from the show and the DCU going forward. Also be sure to check out everything else releasing this weekend in my friendly neighborhood streaming guide.
What Time Does ‘Lanterns’ Episode 2 Release On HBO Max In The US?
The second episode of Lanterns drops this Sunday simultaneously across time zones. Unlike most streaming premieres, this one goes live the moment it airs on HBO rather than a midnight or middle of the night release. Here’s what time you can catch the series premiere depending on where you live:
| Time zone | Premiere time |
|---|---|
| Eastern | 9:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16 |
| Central | 8:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16 |
| Mountain | 7:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16 |
| Pacific | 6:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16 |
| Alaska | 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16 |
| Hawaii | 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16 |
The Season 1 premiere (titled “Pilot”) ran for roughly 57 minutes with credits. Each episode will run for about an hour. Tonight’s episode, “Trust Fall”, runs just 52 minutes. Leaks suggest the following episodes are:
- Episode 3: OutKast (54 minutes)
- Episode 4: The Weenie (52 minutes)
The remaining four episode titles and runtimes have not been leaked.
Watch ‘Lanterns’ Episode 2 Trailer
What Time Does ‘Lanterns’ Release Internationally?
For international audiences, it gets a bit more complicated. Here’s when and where you can watch Lanterns when it drops this weekend in various international markets.
| Market | Time | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Sunday, August 16, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT | HBO and HBO Max |
| Canada | Sunday, August 16, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT | Crave |
| United Kingdom | Monday, August 17, 2 a.m. BST | HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, Now TV |
| India | Monday, August 17, 6:30 a.m. IST | JioHotstar |
| Singapore | Monday, August 17, 9 a.m. SGT | HBO Max |
| Australia | Monday, August 17, 11 a.m. AEST | HBO Max |
| New Zealand | Monday, August 17, 1 p.m. NZST | HBO Max |
Is ‘Lanterns’ Releasing All At Once?
As with most HBO and HBO Max TV shows, Lanterns releases weekly each Sunday for a total of eight weeks.
Here’s the full release schedule for all eight episodes of Lanterns on HBO and HBO Max:
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday, Aug. 16 |
| 2 | Sunday, Aug. 23 |
| 3 | Sunday, Aug. 30 |
| 4 | Sunday, Sept. 6 |
| 5 | Sunday, Sept. 13 |
| 6 | Sunday, Sept. 20 |
| 7 | Sunday, Sept. 27 |
| 8 (finale) | Sunday, Oct. 4 |
What Is ‘Lanterns’ About?
The official logline reads: “Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery with cosmic ties as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”
The two Green Lanterns are drawn to Rushville, Nebraska, to investigate a murder that turns out to have cosmic implications. The season runs on dual timelines: a 2016 thread in which Hal trains John, and a present-day 2026 investigation set roughly a year after the events of Superman and Peacemaker Season 2.
Chris Mundy (Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen), and comics writer Tom King co-created the series and executive produce, with Mundy serving as showrunner. The supporting cast includes Kelly Macdonald as a local sheriff, Garret Dillahunt and Jason Ritter as father and son William and Billy Macon, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, and Nathan Fillion reprising Guy Gardner from Superman.
What Happened In Episode 1 Of ‘Lanterns’
As you can see in the above video, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Series Premiere of Lanterns, though it wasn’t bad by any means. I think the comparisons to True Detective left me with unrealistic expectations. In any case, you can watch that video review or read my recap/review of the first episode here. It’s enjoyable, and hardly the “slop” some people are calling it, but it’s also not exactly “prestige” HBO either.
Why ‘Lanterns’ Is A Big Deal For The DCU
So far, James Gunn’s DCU has been off to a rocky start. Superman was a hit, even though I found it a pretty mid-tier superhero movie, and Supergirl was a box office bomb thanks to its “scriptonite” as my colleague Paul Tassi so cleverly put it.
Peacemaker Season 2 is the best thing that DC has released since Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios. If they can pull this off, combining the gritty detective mystery and intrigue of True Detective with superhero shenanigans and a more cosmic plot, this could be exactly what the DCU needs to get back on its footing. I’ll be reviewing the series, so look for my episodic recaps every week. The show’s RT score has gone up to 94% from 90% last week, so they’re doing something right.
Then again, even if this is as good or better than Peacemaker, two mature live-action TV shows won’t be enough to revive DC at movie theaters, especially when the next movie coming to the big screen is hardly a family-friendly affair.
What’s Next For The DCU After ‘Lanterns’?
Clayface
Credit: Warner Bros
Clayface lands in movie theaters just weeks after the Lanterns October 4 finale. The movie hits the big screen on October 23. The movie is set in the Gotham universe, with Clayface one of the lesser-known and more terrifying Batman villains. The R-rated film is supposed to be quite scary, with body horror, violence and some nudity. This is more along the lines of The Penguin than Superman, and while I’m a huge fan of all things Gotham, hopefully Gunn can deliver on the lighthearted DC stuff sooner than later. Man Of Tomorrow, the sequel to Superman, comes out in July of 2027, with the next Batman film slated for 2028.
Aaron Pierre has been confirmed as part of the cast for Man Of Tomorrow, but so far there’s no apparent connection between Lanterns and Clayface.
What About ‘Lanterns’ Season 2?
While there’s no official renewal confirmation from HBO — the network appears to be waiting to see how the first season performs — the work has already begun on a follow-up. Lindelof confirmed that Mundy has already started a new writing room to brainstorm future seasons. Who returns in the cast and behind the scenes, if the show is renewed, remains to be seen. Lindelof is moving on to other projects, and reports suggest Christopher Cantwell could join as co-showrunner going forward.
Either way, it sounds like Season 1 will tell a complete story with a beginning, middle and an end, so even if this ends up being a one-season outing, we won’t have to deal with an unfinished story.
Are you looking forward to Lanterns? Be sure to check back on this blog and on my YouTube channel for my review of episode 2 this evening!
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