DC Studios' "Lanterns" draws 9.3 million viewers worldwide in first three days
"Lanterns" attracted 9.3 million viewers globally on HBO and HBO Max during its opening three days, with 6.6 million in the United States.
The DC Studios series "Lanterns," based on the Green Lantern comics, recorded 9.3 million viewers worldwide across its first three days on HBO and HBO Max, according to internal data. Approximately 71 percent of that audience, or 6.6 million viewers, were in the United States.
The U.S. viewership surpassed the premieres of recent HBO titles such as "IT: Welcome to Derry" (5.7 million in October 2025), "The Penguin" (5.3 million over four days in September 2024) and "True Detective: Night Country" (2 million on its first night in January 2024). Only "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," which logged 6.7 million viewers over three days in January, posted a higher domestic debut.
Globally, the four earlier shows each accumulated at least 17.5 million viewers within their first 90 days, HBO's standard measurement period. "Lanterns" also set a record as the most-watched DC Studios premiere on HBO Max, exceeding the debut numbers of "The Penguin," "Peacemaker" and the animated series "Creature Commandos."
The series stars Kyle Chandler as Green Lantern legend Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as recruit John Stewart, following the duo to Nebraska to investigate a mass shooting that Jordan suspects involves extraterrestrials. The cast includes Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Paul Ben-Victor, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones, with Nathan Fillion slated to return as Guy Gardner later in the season.
Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Eisner Award-winning comic writer Tom King created the series and penned the pilot. Mundy serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Lindelof, King, DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, Ron Schmidt and director James Hawes, who helmed the first two episodes.