SERIES PREMIERE: It was 1952 when the first TV series based on the comic-book character of Superman came to television – with George Reeves playing mild-mannered
Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent and his costumed alter ego, Superman. Phyllis Coates played fellow reporter Lois Lane that first season, then was replaced by Noel Neill until
Adventures of Superman left first-run syndication in 1958. Since then, of course, Superman has kept reappearing in movie and TV spinoffs, sequels and reinventions, with Lois being around for almost all of them. The last time this half-super couple shared top billing was in ABC’s
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, the charming and light-hearted 1993-97 series co-starring Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain. Since then, of course, there have been such TV revisits as the 2001 series
Smallville (about Clark Kent’s teen years) and the still-running CW series
Supergirl. That was the first CW series on which
Grimm co-star Elizabeth Tulloch, in 2018, guest starred as Lois Lane, a role she’s since reprised, in supporting guest appearances, on not only
Supergirl, but on sister CW DC Comic series
Batwoman, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and
Arrow. Tyler Hoechlin has guest starred on those same series, over that same span, in the dual role of Clark Kent and Superman, so they’re both coming to this new series after a successful five-series tryout.
Superman & Lois is the most expensive-looking TV series in the DC canon since
Smallville 20 years ago, and its entry into the story is a new one. Lois and Clark have lived in Metropolis long enough, successfully hiding their super secret, to raise a pair of teen boys. As this new series begin, events transpire to bring the couple and their sons back to his adoptive town of Smallville. The plot points don’t make much sense – it strains even comic-book credulity to imagine Superman having money problems – but
Superman & Lois is sufficiently high-profile to keep an eye on.
For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.