Broadcast TV Superman & Lois - Season 3 (The CW) (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

The third season of the newest adventures of Superman (and family) will premiere at mid-season on the CW.

Season 1 thread
Season 2 thread

When we last left the Kent farm:

• It was confirmed that "Superman & Lois" takes place on a different Earth in the multiverse than the Arrowverse, where Superman has long been the world's only superhero. While some people look the same on both worlds (Superman, the Lane sisters, John Diggle) others look very different, or don't exist at all.
• Ally Allston was split back into her two halves, and put into DoD confinement.
• Superman created a new Fortress of Solitude for the Kent family in the middle of the ocean.
• Lana and Sarah both know the Kent family secret.
• Natalie and Jordan have become superheroes in their own right, alongside their superheroic fathers.
• Tal-Rho, having reconciled with his brother Kal-El, journeyed to the Bizzaro Earth to become its protector.
• John Henry Irons was recruited by John Diggle to investigate why Bruno Manheim and Intergang killed the John Henry Irons of this Earth.
• Lois told Chrissy that Clark is Superman, as Clark begins reporting for his small hometown newspaper.

Jonathan Kent Recast:

"Superman & Lois": Michael Bishop To Play Recast Jonathan Kent​

While I hate recasting as a rule, and thought Jordan Elsass did a good job in the role, Bishop looks both more like Tyler Hoechlin's son and more like Alex Garfin's fraternal twin.

 

[jayembee]

I don't hate recasting. I don't necessarily like it, but it's a necessary evil most of the time.

 

[Garysb]

Nexstar wants to cap the cost of license fees for scripted series to $1 million per episode. Sounds like a lot but most current CW series are getting from about $1.5 to close to $2 million per episode.

"I hear that idea has been met with resistance, with sources telling Deadline that it is not feasible to produce an hourlong series at that license fee, taking on additional deficit, under the current model of the CW getting first run and the studios trying to find domestic off-network and international buyers."

"If the new CW leadership is open to creative arrangements, like taking series in second window or agree to a shorter in-season window, making out-of-season rights more valuable, I hear studio executives may be willing to listen." Sounds somewhat like " Stargirl" which in it's first season aired first on DC's streaming service and later on the CW.

The CW Floats $1M An Episode License Fee For Drama Series As Studios Wait For Clarity On New Business Model

Not counting the series that are officially ending this season, the oldest scripted series on the air at the CW is flagship All American, currently in its fifth season. All other shows are three-years-old or younger. That is significant as series tend to get more expensive as they age. And, as...

deadline.com

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I don't see this show staying on The CW past the upcoming third season. It either gets moved to HBO Max or its successor, or it gets canceled to clear the field for Henry Cavill to return as the silver screen Superman.

 

[Garysb]

It will be 3 or 4 years before a new Henry Cavill Superman film is released. So I don't think that will be much of a factor in ending Superman and Lois. They take time, usually a year or more after they finish filming it . Superman and Lois could run for a 5th or 6th year before a movie was ready for release. I do agree Superman and Lois will most likely not continue on the CW past the current season. The longer a series runs, the more expensive it gets with increased salaries etc. I hope the producers plan for that and bring the show to a satisfying conclusion even if it is picked up by HBOMAX . Warner Bros./ Discovery is doing it's own cost cutting and so may be less inclined to pick this show up. It seems like the CW will run all the scripted series they are contracted to broadcast by the previous ownership and then start over to become the home of reality shows, news, and off network reruns. Maybe Walker continues. All American, currently in it's 5th season, probably is becoming too expensive for them.

 

[Garysb]

Most Warner and Paramount content to disappear from the CW in 2023-2024 season. So long Superman and Lois? This would seem to almost confirm it. Not a surprise but .....

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and execs of the nation’s biggest broadcaster said its imprimatur will be evident on The CW schedule for the 2023-2024 season with lower cost, broader appeal, and more unscripted fare and minimal content from former co-owners Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Global.

There may some contractual holdovers. And going forward, “Warner and Paramount are not precluded from selling us programming. It’s just going to have to be a financial deal that we like. And there may be a couple of shows that distinguish themselves this year that we want to hold over to next year,” Sook told investors on a call following third quarter earnings.

The CW To Shed WBD, Paramount Content In 2023-24 Season; Former Owners “Not Precluded From Selling Us Programming” If It’s “A Deal We Like,” Says Nexstar CEO

Perry Sook talked strategy for the recently acquired network on a quarterly earnings call.

deadline.com

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

There's no way "Superman & Lois" gets a fourth season on The CW. Nexstar is putting a $1 million/episode cap on what it's willing to pay for content, and "Superman & Lois" is probably the network's most expensive current show.

The best bet for another season after the upcoming one is jumping to HBO Max as a streaming original.

 

[Garysb]

The CW announced their mid season line up. No word on Superman and Lois, The Flash, Riverdale, or Nancy Drew.

Superman and Lois I could see holding to March as they have had to have long breaks between episodes when they started in January or February. As for the others including The Flash it seems like they will be burned off in the summer as there shouldn't be a reason they can't air sooner if they want. The Winchesters and The Walker spin off will only have 13 episodes this year, so they should finish by the end of February.

The CW Sets Midseason Return Dates for All American, Kung Fu and More; Flash, Superman & Lois Still TBD

The CW isn’t wasting any time getting back to business in 2023. The network has unveiled midseason premiere dates for several of its returning series

tvline.com

 

[jayembee]

So much for the CW. S&L and The Flash are the only shows I'm waiting for. And after last season, I would've given up on The Flash if I didn't know this was going to be the final season.

It looks like they've also decided not to announce a start date for Gotham Knights. It didn't look particularly interesting to me anyway.

 

[jayembee]

So The Flash S9 gets a date: Feb 8th. Still no word about Superman & Lois.

The Flash's Final Season Set for February Premiere at The CW

One of the glaring gaps in The CW’s midseason schedule has been filled, by way of a premiere date for The Flash’s ninth and final season.

tvline.com

 

[jayembee]

Superman & Lois Finally Sets Season 3 Premiere Date on The CW

'Superman & Lois' Season 3 and new series 'Gotham Knights' will premiere in March on The CW.

tvline.com

Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Back-to-back with Gotham Knights.

 

[Garysb]

Fund raising video where you can see the new "Jonathan Kent"

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Season 3 Trailer:

 

[Alex...]

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Not as long as I'd like to see the show run, but better than I expected given the leadership changes at both DC and The CW in recent months. While we probably won't get a Season 5, it sounds like we might get a Season 4.

 

[David Weicker]

Yes, the statement is extremely vague.

Does “1or 2 more seasons” mean
the 3rd, that we already knew about and a possible 4th,
Or (after the 3rd), a 4th and possible 5th?

Best case, we get five, worst case, we get the three we already knew about

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Reminder: The third season premieres tonight at 8/7c.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Good to have this one back. The Jonathan casting was pretty seamless; the American accent Michael Bishop is using on the show sounds almost identical to Jordan Elsass's speaking voice, and they look pretty similar (although Bishop looks more like Hoechlin, Tulloch, and Garfin than Elsass did).

I love the sense of community in Smallville, and the way everybody knows everybody (for good and for bad). I'm guessing that the money that Lana moved around to mitigate the mold issues at the high school belongs to some bad characters that the previous mayor got mixed up with. Good thing Superman's living right up the road now.

The fight with Atom Man was good, both for the scale and for the sense that Bruno Mannheim was just using his reign of terror to calibrate whatever technology he's cooked up.

I'm guessing things are going to get messy fast for the Irons family; with the sister of this Earth's John Henry Irons now serving as Lois's OBGYN, and the man who killed this Earth's John Henry Irons cooking up some new trouble, how long until the existence of our John Henry Irons (and Natalie) is known to the Irons family of this world? I liked the subplot between Sam Lane and Natalie, too; it's always fascinating to see how this sort-of-family develops.

So far, Kyle Cushing has done a better job of moving on than Jordan has.

 

[NeilO]

After the opening of the episode, I saw "Superman" across the screen and my mind eliminated the u for a moment there.

Mannheim looks to be "the big bad" for most of the season and I would guess somehow that money is connected to him.

It took a bit to get used to the new Jonathan, but I will get there.

It was good start to the season. It should prove interesting.

 

[NeilO]

Another good episode. Things are definitely heating up. A problem might be that it is getting too dark too quickly.

I just looked up the imdb page of the actor who plays Bruno Mannhein, Chad Coleman. I find it hard to believe that he also plays Klyden on The Orville. He sure has range.