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WHEN HBO’S WATCHMEN debuted back in 2019, it was the absolute talk of television. The series, which came from acclaimed creator Damon Lindelof, wasn’t a pure adaptation of Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel, but rather a continuation, a story that built on that world that Moore created. This was his best possible course of action, as it allowed for the HBO series to veer from comparisons that would certainly be unenviable, and instead make its own mark in the crowded landscape of prestige television that would only grow busier in the coming years as superhero content of all sorts ramped up. Watchmen went on to win a staggering 11 Emmys, and was nominated in total for 26, making it one of the most acclaimed single seasons of television of all time.
We never got a second season of Watchmen, and rightfully so—the story was complete and didn’t need to go on. But HBO’s Lanterns, which counts Lindelof as a co-creator alongside Ozark creator Chris Mundy and acclaimed comic book writer Tom King, feels like the closest thing since. The latest project in James Gunn’s retooled DC Universe (and third television series, following Creature Commandos and the second season of Peacemaker) puts Green Lanterns Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) front and center, but tells a whole new kind of story for the superhero medium.
Inspired partly by dark television mysteries like True Detective, Lanterns puts a mystery in the hands of those two lead characters, but also allows for the show to explore themes of mentorship, male role modeling, and race in America. As the show moves on from episode to episode, it also gives Chandler and Pierre both their chances for highlight reel scenes as actors, while also making time for some really fun action and Green Lantern-ing.
Lanterns is one of the year’s best shows to date. It feels familiar, at times, because the beats set by shows like True Detective (or even something a bit more genre bendy like The Outsider) have already been established, but it’s just fun to watch these characters, in this world, with these powers, get to the bottom of something. That’s no easy feat.
So, if you want to stick with Lanterns and make sure you don’t miss an episode, keep reading below.
When is the next episode of Lanterns coming out?
Lanterns episodes air on the proper HBO TV channel and release on HBO Max at the exact same time: on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET. The next episode will air on Sunday, September 13.
How many episodes are in Lanterns? How many episodes are left?
The first season of Lanterns will consist of eight episodes in total, the first four of which have now been released. That means there’s still four episodes—and four weeks of mystery, intrigue, and superheroing—remaining in Lanterns.
Here’s the complete release schedule for HBO’s Lanterns:
Episode 1, “Pilot” – Now streaming on HBO Max as of August 16
Episode 2, “Trust Fall” – Now streaming on HBO Max as of August 23
Episode 3, “OutKast” – Now streaming on HBO Max as of August 30
Episode 4, “The Weenie” – Now streaming on HBO Max as of September 6
Episode 5 – Airing on HBO and streaming on September 13
Episode 6 – Airing on HBO and streaming on September 20
Episode 7 – Airing on HBO and streaming on September 27
Episode 8 – Airing on HBO and streaming on HBO Max on October 4
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.