Superman and Lois showrunner talks making the superhero show stand out in the Arrowverse

Superman and Lois finally have their own Arrowverse show. 

However, the new series presents a unique situation for a new venture. These versions of the characters, portrayed by Teen Wolf’s Tyler Hoechlin and Grimm’s Elizabeth Tulloch, had already been established over numerous appearances in the Arrowverse, with the two most recently chipping in to defeat the Monitor during the epic Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover. Whereas the other Arrowverse shows needed to recruit new actors for their main characters, Superman and Lois saw showrunner Todd Helbing pitch Hoechlin and Tulloch a pilot and season arc over dinner.

"It’s an interesting dynamic, because Tyler and Bitsie had already played these characters in a handful of episodes and had worked on their interpretations of the characters," Helbing tells GamesRadar+'s sister publication SFX Magazine. 

"But when I explained to them what we were trying to do and the tonal shift, they got on board pretty quickly. There are subtle changes they make – not necessarily in performances, but in attitude. They knocked it out of the park in all the Arrowverse episodes that they were in, but we are really diving into their relationship. One of the analogues we use for this show is Friday Night Lights. Lois and Clark in our show are very much Tami and Coach Taylor."

More than just the weight of the world rests on Superman’s shoulders in the series. The TV series Arrow went off the air in 2020; Black Lightning and Supergirl are scheduled to end in 2021. With the very fate of the Arrowverse at stake, it’s up to Superman and Lois to help the CW’s live-action superhero franchise soar even higher.

"All the shows had an amazing run and told fantastic stories," Helbing concludes. "But this is season one. For us, it was an opportunity to pivot and shift. Black Lightning did a fantastic job of telling a family story. Flash clearly had a family at STAR Labs. But the Kent family is central to the story. It’s a family show that just happens to have Lois and Superman in it. It will be different, but you will see it’s still connected to the Arrowverse."

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The first reviews for Superman and Lois are already pointing to the show's more upbeat tone, with Superman fully embracing his role as a symbol of hope. The series is airing now on The CW in the United States, while the UK release is TBC.

You can check out the full interview with the team behind Superman and Louis in the current issue of SFX Magazine, which features Falcon and the Winter Soldier on the cover. For more from SFX, make sure to sign up to the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.