Lanterns came in with high expectations, and reactions from critics and audiences have largely suggested that the series delivered on those expectations, both in terms of performances and overall approach to the Green Lantern mythology. Now Lanterns has another win to add to its resume, as the premiere broke DC’s viewership record and possibly ended a fan debate at the same time.
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The series premiere of Lanterns has accumulated 9.3 million views over the course of its first three days on HBO and HBO Max (via Variety), and the series also pulled in 6.6 million viewers in the United States on its own across that same three-day period. That surpasses The Penguin, which ultimately got to 10.4 million viewers over 10 days, and HBO has also confirmed that Lanterns now ranks in the top five series premieres on HBO Max ever.
Lanterns’ Premiere Seems To Have Quieted Much of the Backlash
In the lead-up to Lanterns, there was quite a bit of discussion and, at times, backlash to some of the first trailers and interviews. There were criticisms of not enough green in early looks, and there were also critiques that the show wasn’t leaning enough into Green Lantern’s comic origins and cosmic premise.
Since the premiere, quite a bit of that debate has faded away, as the show’s first episode quickly establishes that this is still very much a Green Lantern series, even if it’s more grounded than some other Green Lantern adventures. The dynamic between Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart and Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan has also done some heavy lifting in terms of winning people over, as their evolving relationship forms the heart and foundation of the series.
Now, that doesn’t mean there aren’t detractors and criticisms of the series, though a fair share of those issues tend to center around the show’s story choices regarding Hal Jordan. The character’s death at the end of the first episode has certainly split some longtime fans, and it’s easy to understand why.
While the Green Lantern Corps doesn’t lack for awesome characters, Hal Jordan is unquestionably the most well-known member and is also likely the most popular as well. So while he might not be my favorite (Kyle Rayner for life), it’s easy to understand why so many who are his biggest fans would be upset that they could be losing him after just getting to know him. Making this worse is that many have praised Kyle Chandler’s version of Hal, so to see him debut and then have to say goodbye was always going to frustrate a section of fans.
Even with that frustration, fans are still tuning in, and that bodes well for the rest of the series and the new DCU’s health overall. Lanterns is now streaming on HBO Max, and new episodes premiere every Sunday.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel -
Image Courtesy of DC Studios
