‘Lanterns’ Premiere Lights Up Strong Ratings on HBO, HBO Max

In brightest day, in blackest night … a fairly large number of people watched the premiere of Lanterns .

The DC Studios series based on the Green Lantern comics amassed 9.3 million viewers worldwide in its first three days on HBO and HBO Max , according to figures from the sibling outlets. About 71 percent of that total (6.6 million) came from the United States.

The U.S. total outperformed the series premieres of several recent-ish HBO shows, including 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 for its first night in January 2024). Lanterns’ U.S. audience comes in just behind the 6.7 million viewers over three days for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in January. Related Stories TV HBO Max Picks 12 European Writers for Script Engine Program Business Nielsen Rolls Out Suite of TV Ratings Updates for 2026-27 Season

Worldwide, those four shows all averaged at least 17.5 million viewers over their first 90 days of release (HBO’s cutoff date for audience measurement). Lanterns also becomes the biggest premiere for a DC Studios show on HBO Max, topping The Penguin, Peacemaker and animated series Creature Commandos .

Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as, respectively, Green Lantern Corps legend Hal Jordan and new recruit John Stewart. The series premiere follows the two to Nebraska to investigate a mass shooting that Jordan suspects involves aliens. The cast also includes Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Paul Ben-Victor, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones. Nathan Fillion will reprise his role as fellow Lantern Corps member Guy Gardner later in the season.

Chris Mundy ( Ozark ), Damon Lindelof ( Watchmen, The Leftovers ) and Eisner Award-winning comics writer Tom King co-created the series and wrote the first episode. Mundy is the showrunner and executive produces with Lindelof, King, DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, Ron Schmidt and James Hawes, who directed the first two episodes.