‘Lanterns’ Season 2 Won’t Be Greenlit Until the Writers’ Room ‘Comes Up With a Worthy Successor to a Great First Season’

While HBO’s “Lanterns” hasn’t yet scored a second season renewal, one could be on the way depending on how things go in the writers’ room, according to DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran. While he didn’t confirm an exact date fans can expect an announcement to come on, Safran did note that news on whether “Lanterns” will get a second season should arrive “before the end of the year” in a recent interview with Collider. Safran also noted that Season 2 would need to be up to par with Season 1, which enjoyed a massively successful premiere and run. “If we’re able to come up with what we believe to be a worthy successor to a beloved and great first season, that’s what’s going to dictate whether there’s a second season,” he said. Safran added that the most rewarding part of Season 1’s success has been seeing the “Green Lantern” property back in the cultural conversation. (“Lanterns” was adapted from DC Comics’ “Green Lantern” franchise, which follows an intergalactic police force.) Popular on Variety The eight-episode show’s season finale aired on Oct. 4, and wrapped up the central mystery of who killed Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and revealed the identity of the second Manhunter, plus how John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) becomes Earth’s sole Green Lantern in DC Studios’ forthcoming “Superman” sequel, “Man of Tomorrow.” Before the finale, Variety reported that the show’s seventh episode reached 7 million viewers in the U.S. in its first three days of availability. Previous episodes had averaged over 12 million viewers per episode in the U.S. to date and nearly 19 million when factoring in international viewing.