Superman & Lois to debut in January 2021

by | May 21, 2020

Much news for The CW’s Superman & Lois has been announced recently, including new castings, a premier month and timeslot, and DC crossover plans. We break it all down on this episode of the podcast.

Superman & Lois is set to premiere in January 2021 on Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW

  • Will air after The Flash
  • Same day/time slot that Smallville debuted on The WB in 2001
  • Basically all original programming delayed until January 2021 or later, as opposed to traditional October start
  • Other DC Superhero shows:
  • Batwoman Sundays at 8, Black Lightning Monday at 9
  • Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl (Benoist pregnancy) held for midseason, no official word if Green Arrow and the Canaries will be ordered to series

The studio hopes to begin production for shows “somewhere in September” – (The Hollywood Reporter)

  • Typically, returning shows begin filming in July

Warner Bros. TV early plans for possible safe returns to filming – Variety

  • Safety protocols – masks, temperature checks, etc. 
  • How could social distancing impact love scenes or fight scenes
  • Action scenes/hand-to-hand combat will have to be limited or removed
  • Possible quarantine idea
  • Limiting traveling guest stars – probably a lot of Vancouver guest stars?
  • Multiple episode roles for guest stars and directors
  • Crowd scenes will likely be eliminated, unless made with visual effects
  • Outdoor/on-location scenes

The CW plans to still produce and air full seasons of their shows, despite the late start – Deadline

  • “The late start of the season will not impact the size of the orders, with series still producing seasons of lengths in line of what they typically do, from 13 to 22 episodes, depending on the show. That will stretch the season to July-August (with a May “midseason”), making for a very short summer break until the CW’s 2021-22 season starts in October as usual. “
  • Superman & Lois has an initial 13-episode order, although that could be expanded
  • How likely are delays to impact filming?
  • How many episodes do we expect for Season 1?

The CW has released the first logo and poster for Superman & Lois

  • Logo
  • Poster
  • Officially Superman & Lois and not Superman and Lois?
  • Font choice
  • No new costume (yet?)
  • Daily Planet/Metropolis skyline

The CW  has released the first full synopsis for Superman & Lois– Kryptonsite

  • “In SUPERMAN & LOIS, after years of facing megalomaniacal supervillains, monsters wreaking havoc on Metropolis, and alien invaders intent on wiping out the human race, the world’s most famous superhero, The Man of Steel aka Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin, “Teen Wolf”) and comic books’ most famous journalist, Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch, “Grimm”), come face to face with one of their greatest challenges ever – dealing with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society. Complicating the already daunting job of raising two boys, Clark and Lois must also concern themselves with whether or not their sons Jonathan (Jordan Elsass, “Little Fires Everywhere”) and Jordan (Alexander Garfin, “The Peanuts Movie”) could inherit their father’s Kryptonian superpowers as they grow older. Returning to Smallville to handle some Kent family business, Clark and Lois are reacquainted with Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui, “Entourage”), a local loan officer who also happens to be Clark’s first love, and her Fire Chief husband Kyle Cushing (Erik Valdez, “Graceland”). The adults aren’t the only ones rediscovering old friendships in Smallville as the Kent sons are reacquainted with Lana and Kyle’s rebellious daughter, Sarah (Inde Navarrette, “Wander Darkly”). Of course, there’s never a dull moment in the life of a superhero, especially with Lois’ father, General Samuel Lane (Dylan Walsh, “Nip/Tuck”) looking for Superman to vanquish a villain or save the day at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, Superman and Lois’ return to idyllic Smallville is set to be upended when a mysterious stranger (Wolé Parks, “All American”) enters their lives. Based on the characters from DC created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, SUPERMAN & LOIS is written and executive produced by Todd Helbing (“The Flash”) and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Geoff Johns. The series is from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.”

2021 Crossover plans – (TV Line)

  • Obviously, no traditional December 2020 crossover featuring all Earth-Prime shows
  • CW President Mark Pedowitz – ““We’re still working on it. It will be a smaller event than usual, we’re only planning a two-hour event. We are talking about doing Superman and Batwoman together. There’s a lot of characters coming from our other shows.”
  • Maybe just a regular crossover, but to air on Superman & Lois and Batwoman? (for HBO Max connection?)
  • The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning?
  • Expected to be a 2-hour Sunday night event in 1st or 2nd quarter of 2021

The CW has launched official/verified social media accounts for Superman & Lois

Wolé Parks (Devious Maids, Next Caller) cast in the series regular role of “The Stranger” for Superman & Lois – Deadline

  • The Stranger is described as “ a mysterious visitor hellbent on proving to the world that it no longer needs Superman.”
  • Could this be a season-long mystery?

Inde Navarrette cast in the series regular role of Sarah Cushing, the daughter of Lana and Kyle – Deadline

  • Sarah is described as “a whip-smart, supercool wild child with some demons in her past who becomes friends with the Kent boys, Jonathan and Jordan.”

Some writers for the staff of Superman & Lois have been revealed

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