TF1 is taking advantage of the summer to launch this evening “Superman and Lois”, a new series of superheroes with Tyler Hoechlin who revisits the history of Superman by focusing on the family life of Clark Kent, who became the father of two teenagers. A nice success.
Already available on the Salto platform for a few months, the Superman & Lois series, launched in February 2021 across the Atlantic on The CW, is finally arriving on French television this evening on TF1.
The opportunity for viewers to discover this unexpected revisit of the adventures of Clark Kent and Loïs Lane which, despite its title and the characters it portrays, has little to do with Loïs and Clark, the new adventures of Superman or Smallville. And that’s quite a good thing.
As for those who would be worried to know that she fits remotely into the Arrowverse – that is, the shared universe which also includes the series Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, or even Stargirl – know that Superman & Lois can watch each other completely independently, so newbies won’t be confused at all. The main lines of the story of Lois and Clark are also summarized from the first minutes of the series.
Lois and Clark’s life as superparents
Created by Todd Helbing (Flash) and Greg Berlanti (Dawson, Arrow, Riverdale), Superman & Lois begins when the most emblematic couple of the DC Comics stable returns to live in Smallville to take care of the affairs of the Kent family.
Now married and happily parents of two 14-year-old teenagers, Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) and Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) will have to juggle raising their two boys, their new life away from Metropolis, preserving Clark’s secret, and the protection of the population – and the whole world – when new enemies more formidable than ever will appear and threaten the survival of all.
If Superman has been entitled to many re-readings on the small and the big screen, from films with Christopher Reeve to Man of Steel, passing by the series of the 2000s with Tom Welling, this is the first time that his adventures are recounted. in this way, through the theme of marriage and family. The result is in fact a somewhat hybrid drama which, to the action and suspense expected of such a super-heroic series, also adds a very family and very teenage atmosphere which makes the difference and carries us away.
Warner Jordan (Alex Garfin) and Jonathan (Jordan Elsass), Lois and Clark’s two children.
While Clark does everything possible to protect his sons from the weight of their legacy, Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin) try to navigate the troubled waters of high school, in a new environment (Smallville) that is theirs. anything but familiar. While one struggles to accept living far from his girlfriend who has remained in Metropolis, the other falls under the spell of Sarah (Inde Navarrette), Lana Lang’s daughter.
And in the midst of these teenage issues that do good in the Arrowverse, the question of the powers that Clark apparently bequeathed to only one of his sons comes to complicate everything a little more.
A darker and visually impressive series
If Arrow and Flash were in the past confined to a broadcast at 11 p.m. on TF1 (or even later), Superman & Lois has the honors of a summer broadcast in prime time. A choice which may seem surprising, at a time when American series are a little less popular with us, but which is certainly explained by the channel’s desire to surf on the current popularity of superheroes, which in particular by the Marvel phenomenon in dark rooms.
In addition, Superman & Lois has real scriptwriting and aesthetic qualities that set it apart from the lot of CW series and totally justify the treatment offered to it by TF1. Unlike Legends of Tomorrow and many American network fictions, the series deploys quite impressive special effects and a super neat and polished production, which brings Superman & Lois closer to the best blockbusters.
Another good point: Tyler Hoechlin’s Clark Kent (very good in the role) is less “smooth” than in the other versions of Superman, even if the character retains his clean side on him. Indeed, when the series begins, Clark has just lost his job and is struggling as best he can to be a good father. And to bond with his sons who don’t really care about him.
Warner
Elizabeth Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin lend their features to the two heroes of the series.
Very current, and quite dark, in the themes it addresses, Superman & Lois is intended to reflect an America faced with the crisis and, between two fights between Clark and his adversaries, the questions of unemployment and hardship become almost central within the first season.
Of course, the 15 episodes of this season 1 also benefit from a mythology provided which will delight fans of science fiction and superheroic stories – and promises you a good number of tasty twists and revelations. But it is above all for the richness of its characters and its subject that Superman & Lois is worth a look.
Especially since the series can count on the talent of its actors, led by the family quartet made up of Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf), Elizabeth Tulloch (Grimm), Jordan Elsass (Little Fires Everywhere), and Alex Garfin, all very fair. But also Dylan Walsh (Nip / Tuck), in the role of General Sam Lane, Wolé Parks (Vampire Diaries), Inde Navarrette (13 Reasons Why), or Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) in Lana Lang very attached to the Smallville community and his past friendship with Clark.
Superman & Lois is broadcast at the rate of three episodes per week on TF1 every Tuesday from July 12. While the first two seasons are available on Salto.