Superman & Lois

Superman & Lois
Genre	Drama Superhero
Based on	Characters appearing in DC Comics
Developed by	Greg Berlanti Todd Helbing
Starring	Tyler Hoechlin Elizabeth Tulloch Jordan Elsass Alex Garfin Erik Valdez Inde Navarrette Wolé Parks Adam Rayner Dylan Walsh Emmanuelle Chriqui Tayler Buck Sofia Hasmik
Music by	Dan Romer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	17 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	David Madden Geoff Johns Kristi Korzec Sarah Schecter Lee Toland Krieger Todd Helbing Greg Berlanti
Producers	Karyn Smith-Forge Carl Ogawa Jennifer Lence Nadria Tucker Louis Shaw Milito
Production locations	Vancouver, British Columbia
Cinematography	Gavin Struthers Stephen Maier Gordon Verheul
Editors	Harry Jierjian David Holland Becca Berry Brian G. Addie
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	40-45 minutes (63 minutes for the Pilot)
Production companies	Berlanti Productions DC Entertainment Warner Bros. Television Studios
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	The CW
Picture format	HDTV 1080i
Audio format	Dolby Digital 5.1
Original release	February 23, 2021 (2021-02-23) – present (present)
Chronology
Related shows	Arrowverse
External links
Website
Production website

Superman & Lois is an American superhero drama television series developed for The CW by Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti, based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch star as the title characters Clark Kent / Superman, a costumed superhero, and Lois Lane, a journalist for the Daily Planet, both reprising their roles from Supergirl. The series is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the franchise.

Superman & Lois was announced as a pilot in October 2019 and was ordered to series in January 2020. Filming began in October 2020 and concluded in July 2021. The series premiered on February 23, 2021. Superman & Lois was renewed for a second season in March 2021 which premiered on January 11, 2022 on The CW.

Premise[]

In the first season, Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane return to Smallville with their sons Jonathan and Jordan, where they are reacquainted with Lana Lang, her husband Kyle Cushing, and their daughter Sarah. Their idyllic lives are upended when The Stranger enters as well as the secret experiments of Morgan Edge.^[1]

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

• Tyler Hoechlin as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman: a superhero from Krypton and husband of Lois who defends Earth.^[2] Dylan Kingwell portrays a teenage Clark while Lennix James portrays a 4-year-old Clark.
  • Hoechlin also portrays an evil version of Superman from another Earth that works for his world's Morgan Edge.
  • Hoechlin also portrays General Zod when in the body of Superman.
• Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane: a world-renowned journalist and wife of Clark.^[2]
  • Tulloch also portrays a version of Lois Lane who was married to John Henry Irons and died at the hands of her world's Superman.
• Jordan Elsass as Jonathan Kent: the modest, kind-hearted and athletic son of Clark and Lois. He is named after Clark's adoptive father, Jonathan Kent.^[3] Brady Droulis portrays a 7-year-old Jonathan Kent.
• Alex Garfin as Jordan Kent: the introspective son of Clark and Lois, who is an outcast with social anxiety.^[3] He has inherited his father's powers, though his abilities only appear in "small bursts." He is named after Clark's biological father, Jor-El. Dawson Littman portrays a 7-year-old Jordan Kent.
  • Garfin also portrays Zeta-Rho when in the body of Jordan Kent.
• Erik Valdez as Kyle Cushing: husband of Lana Lang and Smallville's fire chief. A callous and abrasive alcoholic, he carries a chip on his shoulder about living in a small town, with imagined grievances about large cities; is contemptuous of the press; is pro-big business, at any cost.^[4]
• Inde Navarrette as Sarah Cushing: Kyle and Lana's "wild child" daughter who befriends the Kent boys and serves as Jordan's love interest.^[5]
• Wolé Parks as John Henry Irons / Steel: a mysterious visitor from an unidentified parallel Earth that was destroyed by anti-matter who is hellbent on proving to the world that it no longer needs Superman. But later he learns that Superman is the savior of Earth and teams up with him to protect people from threats of Morgan Edge.^[6][7]
  • Parks' image was also used to portray Earth-Prime's John Henry Irons, who is mentioned to have been killed in action.
• Adam Rayner as Morgan Edge / Tal-Rho / Eradicator (season 1; guest season 2): "an intelligent, eloquent and impassioned self-made mogul whose innate ability to motivate is the means to his success and others’ demise.”^[8] He is later revealed to be Kal-El's half-brother known as Tal-Rho through Kal’s mother Lara Lor-Van and Zeta-Rho with plans to restore the Kryptonian race.^[9] Jack Rehbein and Ben Cockell portray a 10-year-old Tal-Rho and a 19-year-old Tal-Rho, respectively.
• Dylan Walsh as Sam Lane: father of Lois and grandfather of Jonathan and Jordan, a no-nonsense, workaholic Army general who is determined to keep America and the world safe from all threats.^[10]
  • Walsh also portrays a version of Sam Lane who was killed in conflict against his world's version of Superman.
• Emmanuelle Chriqui as Lana Lang-Cushing: an old friend of Clark Kent and the loan officer at Smallville Bank.^[11]
  • Chriqui also portrays Kal-El and Tal-Rho's mother, Lara Lor-Van, in the body of Lana Lang.
• Tayler Buck as Natalie Irons (season 2;^[12] guest season 1): John Henry Irons's daughter from his Earth with an alternate version of Lois Lane.
• Sofia Hasmik as Chrissy Beppo (season 2;^[13] recurring season 1): a "go-getter" journalist at the Smallville Gazette who has a "chance encounter" that changes her life.^[14]

Recurring[]

• Joselyn Picard as Sophie Cushing: the "spirited and rebellious" younger daughter of Lana Lang and Kyle Cushing and the sister of Sarah.^[15]
• Daisy Tormé as the voice of the unnamed A.I. Device that works for John Henry Irons.
• Fritzy Klevans-Destine as Sean Smith: a student at Smallville High School and football player who is Sarah's ex-boyfriend and originally antagonizes the Kent brothers.
• Wern Lee as Tag Harris: a student at Smallville and a friend of Sean Smith who developed vibration abilities upon being exposed to yellow phosphorescence the day Jordan's heat vision manifested. In the second season, Harris becomes under the command of General Anderson's Superman team.
• Zane Clifford as Timmy Ryan: a student at Smallville High School who is a friend of Sean Smith.
• Dee Jay Jackson as Cobb Branden: a farmer and a friend of the Kent family.
• Stacey Farber as Leslie Larr: born Irma Sayres, Leslie is a woman with super-strength and heat vision who works as the personal assistant to Morgan Edge.^[16] Her abilities come from being experimented on with X-Kryptonite.
• Angus Macfadyen as Jor-El: Clark Kent's biological Kryptonian father. Though he died along with Krypton, a copy of his consciousness is encoded virtually as an A.I. within the arctic Fortress of Solitude in hologram form to provide guidance when his son seeks help.^[17]
• Danny Wattley as Gaines: the football coach at Smallville High School.
• Hesham Hammoud as Lieutenant Colonel Reno Rosetti: a military officer of the U.S. Army, serving under General Sam Lane.
• Eric Keenleyside as George Dean: the Mayor of Smallville.
• Austin Anozie as Malcolm Teague: a student at Smallville High School.
• Kelcey Mawema as Denise Olowe: a student at Smallville High School.
• Jill Teed as Sharon Powell: a woman whose son was offered a job by Morgan Edge and later gets targeted by Subjekt-11.
• Pavel Romano as Corey Wellnitz: a student at Smallville High School.
• Tori Katongo as Tamera Dalley: a firefighter for Smallville Fire Department.
• Leeah Wong as Emily Phan: a resident of Smallville and one of Morgan Edge's experiments, who made her gain Kryptonian powers.
• Kayla Heller as Tegan Wickhem: a student at Smallville High School who catches Jonathan's eye.
• Shawn Stewart as Jasper Townes: a resident of Smallville and one of Morgan Edge's experiments.
• Kennedy Chew as Avery Phan: a student at Smallville High School.
• A.C. Peterson as Zeta-Rho: the father of Tal-Rho and ex-husband of Lara Lor-Van. Like Jor-El, a copy of his consciousness is encoded virtually as an A.I. within Tal-Rho's desert hideout in hologram form.
• Ian Bohen as Lieutenant General Mitch Anderson (season 2): the metaphorical “new sheriff in town” at the DOD. His worldview divides into two types – those you serve and those who serve you. He does not like that Superman exists outside that paradigm and tries to bring the Man of Steel under his authority officially.^[18]

Guest[]

• Michele Scarabelli as Martha Kent: the adoptive mother of Clark Kent. She dies of a stroke in the first episode.
• Fred Henderson as Jonathan Kent: the adoptive father of Clark Kent. He died of a heart attack while Clark was still a teenager.
• Paul Jarrett as Perry White: the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet before Morgan Edge bought it out.
• Daniel Cudmore as David Fuglestad / Subjekt-11:^[19] A man with super-strength that rivals Superman's super-strength due to having been experimented on with X-Kryptonite.
• Clayton James as Derek Powell: a miner and Sharon's son who took a job by Morgan Edge. After being killed in an accident, Derek was revived by Morgan and Leslie using X-Kryptonite that gave him Kryptonian abilities.
• Brendan Fletcher as Thaddeus Killgrave: a mad scientist and old enemy of Superman who works with Intergang.
• Robel Zere as Dabney Donovan: an associate of Morgan Edge who assists in his experiments with X-Kryptonite.
• Wendy Crewson as Dr. Wiles: a Department of Defense (DOD) therapist whom Lois sees.
• Charles Jarman as Ron Troupe: a reporter from the Daily Planet during Clark's early days.
• David Ramsey as John Diggle: an A.R.G.U.S. agent and friend of Clark and Lois. Ramsey reprises his role from Arrow.^[20]
• Mariana Klaveno as Lara Lor-Van: Clark Kent's and Tal-Rho's biological Kryptonian mother.

Episodes[]

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	15		February 23, 2021 (2021-02-23)	August 17, 2021 (2021-08-17)
	2	TBA		January 11, 2022 (2022-01-11)	TBA

Season 1 (2021)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Lee Toland Krieger	Teleplay by : Todd Helbing Story by : Greg Berlanti & Todd Helbing	February 23, 2021 (2021-02-23)	1.75[21]
The Daily Planet has been bought out by Edge EnerCorp. After losing his job and mother on the same day, Clark Kent attends her funeral in Smallville with his wife Lois Lane and their twin teenage sons Jonathan and Jordan. There, he reunites with Lana Lang and her husband Kyle Cushing, while his sons befriend her daughter Sarah. While the twins mysteriously survive what should have been a fatal accident, the adults begin to suspect that Edge EnerCorp's CEO Morgan Edge, already responsible for Clark's dismissal, has nefarious plans for Smallville. Clark's sons discover his spaceship, so he reveals that he is Superman and that at least one of them must have inherited his powers to have survived the accident. While they initially assume the more athletic Jonathan is superpowered, it turns out to be the neuroatypical loner Jordan when he runs afoul of Sarah's boyfriend, Sean Smith. Meanwhile, Superman and General Sam Lane are dealing with a mysterious enemy who is sabotaging nuclear power plants so he can study how Superman uses his abilities. Superman loses a one-on-one fight with the man, who uses a powered exo-suit that conceals his identity via lead lining. In the end, Clark and Lois decide to move into the Kent farm to allow Jordan privacy as he grows into his powers. The mysterious enemy is identified by his AI as "Captain Luthor".
2	2	"Heritage"	Lee Toland Krieger	Todd Helbing	March 2, 2021 (2021-03-02)	1.24[22]
While Captain Luthor searches the globe for Kryptonite, Clark takes Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude to meet a virtual version of Jor-El, who helps him learn Krypton's history. Meanwhile, at Smallville High, Jonathan is relentlessly bullied by Sean and his friends on the school's football team. Lois questions Edge at a city council meeting about his plans for Smallville. Tests at the Fortress reveal that Jordan's powers are temperamental and extremely limited, disappointing Clark. The Kents attend a barbecue at the Cushings' home, where Lois argues with Kyle over Edge's proposal. Luthor attacks General Lane at the DOD and asks him to help destroy Superman before he can become a threat. General Lane reveals to Superman that he has been secretly stockpiling Kryptonite. After Edge turns her exposé on him into a puff piece, Lois quits the Daily Planet and joins the Smallville Gazette. At his base, Captain Luthor makes plans to build a new ship and armor while continuing to search for Kryptonite. A flashback to Luthor's world reveals that he is the last survivor of a military unit wiped out by an evil Superman.
3	3	"The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower"	Gregory Smith	Brent Fletcher	March 9, 2021 (2021-03-09)	1.25[23]
After being pushed around too many times by Sean and his friends, Jordan decides to push back by joining the team, gaining the respect of the coach and his new teammates. Clark is worried that doing so will reveal his powers, but Jonathan convinces him otherwise. Clark allows Jordan to join the team, and takes a job as the school's assistant coach. Sarah breaks up with Sean and quits the cheerleading team after an argument with her mother. However, Lana and Sarah eventually make up after the former reveals the dysfunctional state of their family like her father sleeping on the couch, Sophie picking on the kids in her class, and Lana abusing sleeping medication. Lois finds a woman named Sharon Powell to talk to regarding Morgan Edge's previous dealings that involved her son Derek. "Subjekt-11", a man with super-strength that rivals Superman's, ambushes Lois when she goes to meet with Sharon, but Superman saves them both. Subjekt-11 is later trying to leave town while asking Morgan on the phone what Larr's going to do to clean up the incident. Morgan's personal assistant Leslie Larr appears in the road and uses her heat vision to kill him. She calls up Morgan and tells him "It's done. I'll call a team".
4	4	"Haywire"	James Bamford	Michael Narducci	March 16, 2021 (2021-03-16)	1.21[24]
General Lane asks Clark to escort Thaddeus Killgrave, who is being transferred out of Metropolis Penitentiary due to Superman's recent absence from the city. After Clark refuses to make an appearance in order to spend time with his family, Lane warns the twins not to distract their father from his role as Superman. Meanwhile, Lois asks Clark to show up to a town meeting to rally opposition to Edge's motion to re-open the local Shuster Mines. Superman gets tied up searching for Killgrave who was sprung out by Intergang, which results in Edge winning the mining vote. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Jordan's football teammate Tag Harris increasingly starts vibrating uncontrollably from his broken arm. The twins try unsuccessfully to help Tag, who is inadvertently becoming more and more dangerous. As Superman battles Killgrave, he hears Jonathan's ELT call for help, giving him added determination to quickly defeat Killgrave and come to the aid of his sons and Tag. Seeing that Clark is putting increased importance on his family, General Lane initiates a contingency plan called Project 7734 inspired by the dog tag that Captain Luthor gave him. Meanwhile, Edge and Larr discover a supply of X-Kryptonite buried in the Shuster Mine.
5	5	"The Best of Smallville"	Rachel Talalay	Teleplay by : Brent Fletcher and Nadria Tucker Story by : Todd Helbing	March 23, 2021 (2021-03-23)	1.24[25]
The Harvest Festival comes to Smallville. After Eliza breaks up with him, Jonathan begins to act out (including drinking at the Festival), which reminds Clark about the last Festival before he decided to move to Metropolis. Sharon brings her son Derek to the Smallville Gazette, where he claims that he was in a coma and had suffered from memory loss. Suspicious, Chrissy tracks Derek after a fire breaks out at the Smallville Community Center (which Derek himself caused due to struggling with powers like Tag). Meanwhile, Captain Luthor introduces himself to Lois as Marcus Bridgewater and offers to help with her investigation on Edge. Chrissy finds Derek with Larr, re-exposing him to X-Kryptonite radiation to stabilize his powers. Luthor tries to destroy both Derek and Superman, but both are unharmed. Derek uses his heat vision with his eyes closed and disintegrates. Lana presents a bench to the town that serves as a memorial to Martha. Luthor sees Lois happy with Clark and is reminded of the Lois on his world who was his wife. After a date at the Festival, Sarah and Jordan decide to remain as friends. As Jordan is walking home, he is ambushed by a super-powered Tag who wants to know what he did to him.
6	6	"Broken Trust"	Sudz Sutherland	Katie Aldrin	May 18, 2021 (2021-05-18)	0.72[26]
Jordan calls Superman for help, scaring Tag. As a result of his attack, Jordan develops a migraine when hearing high-pitched sounds, almost activating his heat vision. He chooses to not tell Clark, so he can still play in the game against Metropolis. While Smallville does win, Jordan is forced to reveal his condition to Clark after the Metropolis team tackles him. Meanwhile, Edge promotes Lana to a manager for his mining operation, much to her and Kyle's surprise. Lois approaches Lana about investigating Edge. Later, she and Marcus discover that the mine contains X-Kryptonite. Larr finds them and attacks, but Marcus knocks her out. Lois wants answers from Marcus, but is called by Clark. Superman finds Tag in Metropolis after Lana reports Tag kidnapped Sarah. Superman protects him from the DOD, who attempted to use regular and Kryptonite bullets. Meanwhile, Jordan gets in a fight with the Metropolis team and is about to punch one of them when Jonathan steps in, accidentally breaking his wrist. The next day, Lana agrees to help Lois investigate Edge. Jordan's body starts going into shock, so Clark takes him to the Fortress.
7	7	"Man of Steel"	David Ramsey	Jai Jamison	May 25, 2021 (2021-05-25)	0.80[27]
Jordan's super-hearing has started to develop causing headaches, forcing him to stay home. Meanwhile, Lana must choose five candidates for Edge's "Leadership Program" involving her old friend Emily Phan. She assumes that these candidates will be in "Edge's X-Kryptonite Army". Lois arranges a meeting between Marcus and Superman in order to get the former to reveal his true identity, however, at the meeting Marcus attacks Superman using red solar flares and a kinetic hammer. Jordan hears his father is in trouble and the twins save him by hitting Marcus with a truck. The DOD detains Marcus, whose real name is revealed as John Henry Irons. In flashbacks, Irons was married to Lois and had a daughter, Natalie. Superman and several others with Kryptonian abilities attacked Metropolis, killing Lois. Irons created his suit with Natalie and the AI was initially programmed for Lex Luthor of Irons' Earth.
8	8	"Holding the Wrench"	Norma Bailey	Kristi Korzec	June 1, 2021 (2021-06-01)	0.90[28]
Irons is interrogated at the DOD, but wants to only speak to Lois. Jonathan and Lois explore Irons' RV, where they find photos of him, as well as his Earth's Superman, Lois, and Natalie. When Jonathan explores the RV on his own, he has to be saved from the AI by Superman. Lois yells at Jonathan in anger, but Clark suggests that there is more on her mind. Lois returns to a therapist who helped her years earlier when she had a miscarriage with a baby girl, who would have been named Natalie. Meanwhile, Sarah tries out for a singing competition in school and is assisted by Jordan, after Kyle abandons her upon learning that he was not chosen for Edge's Leadership program. Lt. Reno Rosetti displays Kryptonian powers when he tries to kidnap Irons. He fights Superman, weakened by Kryptonite gas, before being killed by Irons, who is talked down from killing Superman by Lois, who empathizes with his loss. Sam is forced to reveal Project 7734, an R&D Division for weapons designed to harm Superman if he should turn. Irons is released by the DOD and drives off, as Lois apologizes to Jonathan and reveals her miscarriage to him.
9	9	"Loyal Subjekts"	Eric Dean Seaton	Andrew N. Wong	June 8, 2021 (2021-06-08)	0.92[29]
Edge realizes that Lana has been feeding Lois intel after the latter confronts him about putting Kryptonian consciousnesses into people with help from Dabney Donovan. Jordan is infected by the Kryptonite gas inhaled by his father and is taken to the Fortress of Solitude so that Jor-El's A.I. can help heal him. This forces him to miss Sarah's talent show performance, causing a rift between the two. Meanwhile, Edge activates his Subjekts, including Emily, and has them attack the Kent farm. Jonathan and Sam fight them with Project 7734 weapons before Kyle arrives, revealing himself as one of Edge's Subjekts. Superman returns to the farm and drives the attackers away. Kyle returns home and tells Lana he blacked out and does not remember what happened. Clark and Lois realize that the reason Edge is staying in Smallville is that only the local people can become non-flawed Subjekts as they have been exposed to the X-Kryptonite in the ground for a long period of time. Edge later summons Superman and reveals that he is his Kryptonian "brother".
10	10	"O Mother, Where Art Thou?"	Harry Jierjian	Adam Mallinger	June 15, 2021 (2021-06-15)	0.96[30]
Edge reveals himself as Tal-Rho, son of Zeta-Rho and Lara Lor-Van, making him Kal-El's half-brother. When his mother, now married to Jor-El, first warned that Krypton was dying, his father sent him to Earth to resurrect Krypton with the Eradicator, the device used to implant Kryptonian minds and DNA into humans, created by their mother. His pod landed in England, where he was kept in prison and experimented on before escaping. Edge offers Superman the chance to join his "family" before leaving. Upon obtaining the Eradicator and the cooperation of Dabney Donovan, Superman and the DOD use it to implant his mother's mind into Lana, so she can reverse the process on Edge's Subjekts. Meanwhile, the twins tell Sarah the truth about Kyle and she sees the Kryptonian inside of him. Superman powers the Eradicator with a solar flare, returning everyone back to normal, including Kyle and Lana. Sam orders for Edge to be found. Superman lands close to the Fortress of Solitude with the Eradicator before passing out, now drained of his powers. Elsewhere, Edge and Larr are in a canyon, preparing their next move.
11	11	"A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events"	Gregory Smith	Brent Fletcher	June 22, 2021 (2021-06-22)	0.85[31]
Superman experiences flashbacks of his life before and after meeting Lois, including discovering his Kryptonian heritage, starting his career at The Daily Planet, fighting Atom-Man, and first meeting Lois, their marriage, and the birth of the twin sons. Throughout these flashbacks, he sees images of a ghostly-figure in black, which he eventually deduces to be Tal-Rho. Superman awakes from his dream to discover Tal-Rho had followed him to the Fortress of Solitude and explored his memories using Kryptonian technology invented by Ter-Loc, revealing Superman's human family. Tal-Rho demands Superman's allegiance, but is refused. A weakened Superman is unable to prevent Tal-Rho from destroying the crystal housing the copy of Jor-El's consciousness and leaving for the Kent farm and threatening his family. At the Kent farm, Superman arrives just in time to save his family, swearing allegiance to Tal-Rho in exchange for their safety. Tal-Rho takes Superman to his desert fortress and places him in the Eradicator under the guidance of Zeta-Rho's holographic representation, while Lois calls Irons and expresses concern that Superman has been turned by Tal-Rho.
12	12	"Through the Valley of Death"	Alexandra La Roche	Katie Aldrin & Michael Narducci	July 13, 2021 (2021-07-13)	0.87[32]
Tal-Rho has implanted General Zod's consciousness into Superman, but he continues to try to fight his mind being taken over. Irons returns to Smallville ready to take down Superman with a red solar rocket he had designed on his Earth. Parts for the rocket are obtained from A.R.G.U.S. under false pretenses, delivered by John Diggle. Lois reveals to Irons that Clark is Superman and together with Diggle and Jonathan tries to convince him that he can still be saved. Elsewhere, the Cushings are being blamed by other Smallville residents for what happened with Edge. Jordan locates his father with his super-hearing and Irons goes out to confront him, discovering that Zod has taken over his mind. During the fight Superman temporarily breaks out from Zod's control and instructs Irons to kill him, but instead of doing so, Irons encourages him to fight back for his family, resulting in Superman successfully expelling Zod. Tal-Rho realizes that Zod is gone and escapes his Fortress with the Eradicator, chased by Superman and Irons. Tal-Rho heats up the Eradicator just as Irons shoots him with his rocket. Tal-Rho is captured as the DOD turn their attention to locating Leslie Larr.
13	13	"Fail Safe"	Ian Samoil	Jai Jamison & Kristi Korzec	July 20, 2021 (2021-07-20)	0.84[33]
Larr tries to attack the DOD facility housing Tal-Rho, but is intercepted and captured by Superman and Irons. With the final Kryptonian captured, Sam wants to disband Project 7734, but Superman opposes the idea and wants to preserve the weapons as a fail safe. Lois dislikes the idea, but finally agrees on the condition that the DOD hands the project over to Irons. Sam wants to bury the story of what really happened with Edge and initially Lois agrees, but after seeing the hardships faced by the Cushings and Lana snapping at Mayor Dean for lying about having their back, leaks the real story to Chrissy. In his Kryptonite chamber, Tal-Rho remembers his training and how he once disagreed with his father's ultimate plan for restoring Krypton, which would result in his own death. Now he agrees with the plan and allows the Eradicator to take over his mind. He breaks out of his chamber, escapes the DOD facility, and flies out to space to feed on solar energy.
14	14	"The Eradicator"	Alexandra La Roche	Max Cunningham & Brent Fletcher	August 10, 2021 (2021-08-10)	0.73[34]
Smallville businesses struggle while the residents grow angry with DOD's presence in the town. Chrissy gets an offer to sell the Gazette while the Cushings make plans to move out of town after Kyle gets a job offer in Bristol County. Sam tries to calm the residents at a town hall meeting, but fails when he is forced to dodge Sharon Powell's question about Derek's death after being informed that Tal-Rho has broken Larr out of the DOD facility. Superman and Irons confront Tal-Rho and Larr in Metropolis where Tal-Rho uses his new powers to create four new Subjekts out of the crowd and unleashes them on the city. While Superman and Irons are able to apprehend Larr and the four Subjects, Tal-Rho manages to escape. Meanwhile, Sam picks up the twins and Sarah from a party to take them to safety. They are attacked by Tal-Rho who kidnaps Jordan and implants Zeta-Rho's consciousness into him.
15	15	"Last Sons of Krypton"	Tom Cavanagh	Story by : Kristi Korzec & Michael Narducci Teleplay by : Brent Fletcher & Todd Helbing	August 17, 2021 (2021-08-17)	0.89[35]
Zeta-Rho allows Jordan to contact Superman and keeps him busy, while Tal-Rho turns six DOD soldiers into Krypton's Defense Council. Tal-Rho enters the Shuster Mines to resurrect Krypton, while Superman and Irons fight Zeta-Rho and the Council. Irons knocks out Zeta-Rho and takes an unconscious Jordan to the farm, where Lois enters his mind with Tal-Rho's Kryptonian device and successfully convinces him of his strength, expelling Zeta-Rho. Meanwhile, Superman holds Tal-Rho in place while Irons throws his kinetic hammer, powered with solar energy, at him at maximum force, depowering him and ending the conflict. Superman goes public with the truth about Edge's origin. The Cushings decide to stay in Smallville after Kyle is offered his old job back. Lois purchases half of the Gazette to keep Chrissy from selling it away. Sam decides to step down from active duty at the DOD. Superman recovers the pieces of his father's crystal from the Fortress of Solitude and buries them at the Kent Farm. Irons plans to leave Smallville when a vessel locks onto his suit and lands at the farm. His daughter Natalie comes out of the vessel and reunites with Irons while mistaking Lois for her late mom.

Season 2 (2022)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date [36]	U.S. viewers (millions)
16	1	"What Lies Beneath"	Gregory Smith	Brent Fletcher & Todd Helbing	January 11, 2022 (2022-01-11)	1.09[37]
Three months have passed since Tal-Rho's defeat and Natalie's arrival. Lois is displeased with Chrissy's interviewees for the Gazette and busts Jonathan for nearly having sex with a girl. Lana helps mayoral candidate Daniel Hart in the election against Mayor George Dean. While rescuing a North Korean submarine, Superman suffers from a painful vision, and it happens again during an earthquake. He witnesses a team of young superpowered individuals rescuing people from the mines, and learns they're working for Lt. Mitch Anderson and the D.O.D. since Superman refuses to prioritize America over the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Sarah returns home from camp, but acts distantly towards Jordan. In Metropolis, Natalie struggles to adjust to Earth-Prime. Irons contacts Lois, who talks with Natalie and allows her and Irons to stay with them. Deep in the mines, a gigantic hand smashes through one of the walls.
17	2	"The Ties That Bind"	David Ramsey	Kristi Korzec & Michael Narducci	January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18)	1.10[38]
Clark suffers another vision and visits Tal-Rho, who claims he is powerless though offers to help if taken to his fortress. Clark refuses, but later a vision prevents him from defeating Phillip Karnowski, so Anderson's team (now including Tag Harris) steps in. Meanwhile, comments from one of Lois's sources for an old story threaten the Gazette, but she ignores it and interviews Dr. Faulkner about the tremors with Chrissy at the mines. Hart drops out of the race while Natalie befriends Sarah. Clark and Jordan reluctantly take Tal-Rho up on his offer; he awakens a hologram of his and Clark's mother, Lara. As another tremor occurs, a monster attacks a group in the mines, Clark suffers another vision, and Tal-Rho (who lied about his powers) attacks Jordan. Lara convinces him to stand down and deduces that the visions are because of a cosmological event that coincides with the tremors. That night, Tal-Rho is returned to prison, Lana decides to run for mayor, Jonathan hypothesizes that a teammate is taking steroids, Sarah tells Jordan that she kissed another girl at camp, Dr. Faulkner calls her boss about what was in the mines, and Lois reveals to Chrissy that her old source is her sister Lucy Lane.
18	3	"The Thing in the Mines"[39]	Gregory Smith	Katie Aldrin & Juliana James	January 25, 2022 (2022-01-25)	TBD
19	4	"The Inverse Method"[40]	Melissa Hickey	Jai Jamison & Andrew N. Wong	February 1, 2022 (2022-02-01)	TBD

Production[]

Development[]

The series was announced in October 2019 and executive produced by Todd Helbing, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter and Geoff Johns with Helbing penning the script for the series.^[2] On January 14, 2020, The CW officially ordered Superman & Lois to series.^[41] The first season consisted of 15 episodes.^[42] The series Everwood and Friday Night Lights served as inspirations for the series, given they were also family dramas. Helbing explained many aspects of Superman & Lois were approached as if it were a feature film, such as the aspect ratio, cinematography, and production design, saying, "We are competing with shows on cable and streamers…we wanted to be able to do that and offer audiences something of equal quality".^[1] On March 2, 2021, The CW renewed the series for a second season which premiered on January 11, 2022.^[43]

Casting[]

Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch were signed on to reprise their roles as Clark Kent and Lois Lane from Supergirl.^[2] In February 2020, Jordan Elsass and Alexander Garfin were cast as Clark and Lois' sons Jonathan Kent and Jordan Kent, respectively.^[3] In April, Dylan Walsh was cast as Samuel Lane. Walsh replaces Glenn Morshower, who previously recurred in the role on Supergirl.^[10] Emmanuelle Chriqui was also cast as Lana Lang,^[11] along with Erik Valdez as Kyle Cushing.^[4] The next month, Wolé Parks was cast as "The Stranger" while Inde Navarrette was cast as Sarah Cushing.^[6][5] Additionally, Adam Rayner portrays Morgan Edge, who was previously portrayed by Adrian Pasdar in Supergirl.^[8]

In October 2020, Sofia Hasmik and Stacey Farber were cast in the recurring roles of Chrissy Beppo and Leslie Larr, respectively.^[14][16] In December 2020, David Ramsey was revealed to be reprising his Arrow role of John Diggle in addition to directing at least one episode in the series.^[20] In June 2021, Hasmik was promoted to a series regular for the second season.^[13] In August 2021, Tayler Buck, who guest starred in the first season, was promoted to a series regular for the second season.^[12] In October 2021, Ian Bohen was cast in a recurring role as Lt. Mitch Anderson for the second season.^[44] Jenna Dewan, who previously played Lucy Lane on Supergirl will reprise her role in the second season of Superman & Lois.^[45]

Filming[]

Production on the pilot was expected to begin on March 23, 2020, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and conclude on May 14.^[46] However, on March 13, 2020, plans to shoot a pilot were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to either June or July of that year.^[47][48] In late July 2020, Warner Bros. Television planned for the Vancouver-based production to restart in late August.^[49] Filming of season 1 began on October 21, 2020, and concluded on July 2, 2021.^[50][51][52] The series is filmed on location in Surrey, British Columbia.^[53][54] Season 2 began filming on September 15, 2021.^[55]

Writing[]

In November 2020, series writer Nadria Tucker announced she was fired from the show, claiming it was for "pushing back on racist and sexist storylines." She also claimed she worked on all 15 episodes of the first season, but was only paid for 13 of them.^[56][57][58] In a statement, WBTV claimed that "Warner Bros. Television did not exercise its option to extend her [contract] for additional episodes" and that "WBTV was transparent and told her why it was not picking up her option."^[59]

Speaking to the lack of greater Arrowverse connections in the first season, Helbing felt there was "this weird set of circumstances where, because of production or timing or COVID, everything in the show that was related to the Arrowverse has gotten pulled out". He added that as development progressed further away from the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, "it felt like we were opening a can of worms every time we had to explain the connection", though he was hopeful more connections or proper crossovers could occur in the second season.^[60]

Broadcast[]

Superman & Lois premiered on February 23, 2021,^[61] with an encore presentation on February 27, on the cable network TNT, followed by the special, Superman & Lois: Legacy of Hope, which features behind the scenes footage, interviews with the cast, and special guests discussing the legacy of Superman.^[62] After a delay in production caused by COVID-19, the series went on hiatus after the fifth episode, during which the sixth season of Supergirl took over the series' timeslot.^[63] The entire first season of Superman & Lois became available on HBO Max on September 17, 2021.^[64] The second season premiered on January 11, 2022.^[65][66]

CTV Sci-Fi Channel airs the series in Canada.^[67] The BBC acquired the UK broadcast rights to the show. The series premiered on BBC One in December 2021, and was made available to stream on iPlayer.^[68]

Home media[]

Season one of Superman & Lois was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 19, 2021.^[64]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 88% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it may be a bit too grounded for some viewers, Superman & Lois draws strength from unexpected places – without skimping on the action – to carve its own path in a crowded superhero universe."^[69] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[70]

Ratings[]

Season 1[]

The pilot episode's rating of 1.75 million viewers is the second-best premiere of any CW series since the debut of Batwoman in October 2019 with 1.86 million viewers.^[71] In addition, the premiere was streamed by 716,000 households in the United States according to Samba TV.^[72] The live broadcast of the premiere on BBC One garnered a viewership of 2.75 million households,^[73] while the second episode garnered a viewership of 1.67 million,^[74] and the third episode 2.11 million.^[75]

The sixth episode was streamed by 350,000 households in the United States according to Samba TV,^[76] while the finale was streamed by 545,000.^[77]

Viewership and ratings per episode of Superman & Lois

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	February 23, 2021	0.4	1.75[21]	0.4	1.40	0.8	3.15[78]
2	"Heritage"	March 2, 2021	0.3	1.24[22]	0.4	1.47	0.7	2.71[79]
3	"The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower"	March 9, 2021	0.3	1.25[23]	0.3	1.29	0.6	2.54[80]
4	"Haywire"	March 16, 2021	0.2	1.21[24]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	"The Best of Smallville"	March 23, 2021	0.3	1.24[25]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
6	"Broken Trust"	May 18, 2021	0.1	0.72[26]	0.3	1.03	0.4	1.75[26]
7	"Man of Steel"	May 25, 2021	0.2	0.80[27]	0.3	0.99	0.4	1.79[27]
8	"Holding the Wrench"	June 1, 2021	0.1	0.90[28]	0.2	0.93	0.4	1.84[28]
9	"Loyal Subjekts"	June 8, 2021	0.2	0.92[29]	0.2	0.88	0.4	1.80[29]
10	"O Mother, Where Art Thou?"	June 15, 2021	0.2	0.96[30]	0.3	0.94	0.5	1.90[30]
11	"A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events"	June 22, 2021	0.2	0.85[31]	0.3	0.93	0.4	1.77[31]
12	"Through the Valley of Death"	July 13, 2021	0.2	0.87[32]	0.2	0.84	0.4	1.71[32]
13	"Fail Safe"	July 20, 2021	0.2	0.84[33]	0.2	0.93	0.4	1.76[33]
14	"The Eradicator"	August 10, 2021	0.1	0.73[34]	0.2	0.83	0.3	1.56[81]
15	"Last Sons of Krypton"	August 17, 2021	0.2	0.89[35][82]	0.2	0.90[83]	0.4	1.79

Season 2[]

The premiere of Season 2 was the most-watched premiere for a CW show for the 2021–22 season, in addition to being the most-watched premiere for the channel since Kung Fu in April 2021.^[84] 420,000 US households streamed the episode within one day according to Samba TV.^[85]

Viewership and ratings per episode of Superman & Lois

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"What Lies Beneath"	January 11, 2022	0.2	1.09[37]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	"The Ties That Bind"	January 18, 2022	0.2	1.10[38]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Accolades[]

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2021	Hollywood Critics Association	Best Broadcast Network Series, Drama	Nominated	[86]
	Harvey Awards	Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel	Nominated	[87]
	People's Choice Awards	The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2021	Nominated	[88]

See also[]

• Superman and Lois Lane, general information on the fictional couple
• Superman: Lois and Clark, the comic book series

References[]