Tyler Hoechlin, the Arrowverse‘s own Man of Steel took to Instagram tonight to tell fans how excited he was for the forthcoming Superman & Lois TV series he will appear in alongside Bitsie Tulloch. Word of the series broke earlier today, the culmination of literally years of speculation, rumors, and fantasies about Hoechlin’s Superman getting a show of his own following the popularity of his appearances on Supergirl and in the “Elseworlds” crossover event. He thanked executive producer Greg Berlanti, DC Entertainment, The CW, and more, and lavished praise on Tulloch, whom he said he is constantly learning from and is the best possible partner for the story they plan to tell.
Just by the verbage of his post, it’s easy to wonder whether Superman & Lois might be, like Watchmen, a series with a realtively short run and a planned ending. That may be over-analyzing things, but Hoechlin’s wording does refer to the show as a “story.”
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Hoechlin and Tulloch will be one of two sets of Lois Lane and Clark Kent appearing in the upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event, along with Smallville‘s Erica Durance and Tom Welling. The show, if it is picked up to series, will be the first Superman TV series since the end of Smallville, although Hoechlin has made sporadic appearances on The CW‘s Supergirl since that show’s season two premiere (its first episode on the network after a first season at CBS). Tulloch’s Lois debuted last year as part of the same “Elseworlds” crossover that gave us Ruby Rose’s Batwoman.
Per initial reporting, the series follows “the world’s most famous Super Hero and comic books’ most famous journalist” as they “deal with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society.”
That presumably reveals that the child of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, established in last year’s crossover, will play a key role in the upcoming series, so whatever else might happen during “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” we can assume the baby will come through it okay. It also likely puts lie to the fan speculation that Hoechlin’s Superman might sacrifice himself in order to save his cousin during the Crisis.
Before Smallville, the last time Superman had a TV show (and arguably the last time there was a real Superman show, since Smallville had the “no tights, no flights” rule) was Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. That series as originally conceived as even more Lois-centric than it ended up being, with a heavier focus on the Daily Planet than the final series had. A series tentatively titled Metropolis was originally in development for DC Universe. That series, which was cancelled around the same time Swamp Thing became a reality, would have centered on Lois Lane and Lex Luthor and dealt with how everyday humans lived and worked in a world where Superman existed.
Recent rumors have suggested that Henry Cavill is finished as Superman, and that it may be years before the character gets another theatrical film. Meanwhile, Supergirl is a character supposedly being floated as a potential replacement for the Man of Steel in the DC film universe. Superman & Lois would technically be a spinoff of Supergirl, following on the heels of Green Arrow and the Canaries, a new series spinning out of Arrow and starring Katherine McNamara as the titular Arrow.
It is likely that fans will get more of a sense for what a Superman & Lois series might look like during “Crisis on Infinite Earths” in December.
What do you think about a Superman & Lois show at The CW? Chime in below or tweet at @russburlingame to let us know your thoughts!
