This new crime thriller is a sci-fi True Detective – and I couldn’t stop watching

This review is based on the first seven episodes of Lanterns.

The DCU has got off to a mixed start. While Superman soared, Supergirl was more the woman of yesterday than tomorrow.

Yet I’ve enjoyed the small screen offerings from this nascent shared universe.

Creature Commandos impressed me with its weird confidence, while Peacemaker season 2 didn’t exactly dazzle but definitely entertained.

So with that in mind, I was quite excited for the new show Lanterns, which I was assured was like an odd mix of True Detective and a space adventure like Doctor Who. 

So does Lanterns burn bright or is it another dim bulb?

Well, I’m pleased to say that in the blackest night of the streaming era, this is one show I’m happy to give a ring-ing endorsement (especially episodes three, five, and seven).

The greatest Lantern there ever was! (Picture: HBO)

But I’m getting ahead of myself; what’s this sci-fi thriller about? The show follows two Green Lanterns – think of them as space cops armed with a powerful ring that gives them incredible powers.

Our heroes are partners Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), a cocksure veteran who doesn’t play by the rules, and new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), whose laces are so straight you could use them as a ruler. 

While training one day, Hal gets a report of a mass shooting in Rushville, Nebraska and flies off to investigate, convinced this is no run-of-the-mill spree killing. 

And upon arriving, both Hal and John quickly uncover an extraterrestrial conspiracy that’s far darker than anything they could have imagined. 

So, I’ve already given away that I liked Lanterns, but what exactly was it about the show that charmed me?

Well, if I might pretend to be an academic for a paragraph or two, I enjoyed how the show played with contrast and juxtaposition.

You know, you have the maverick Hal and by-the-book John, the differences between the otherworldly alien planets we get glimpses of and the empty plains of Nebraska, the grand plot of alien invaders and the more relatable forces plaguing Rushville.

It’s fun, and it really plays into one of the show’s central ideas about difference and how, while ultimately we’re not all the same, we all want similar things, be that safety, a family, respect, or even power. 

There’s trouble in town (Picture: HBO)

I thought it was surprisingly sophisticated for a show about men with magic rings. I also think it has some really interesting things to say about fear and how courage can be a privilege.

Now, I can’t say too much about it; otherwise the Guardians of the Spoilers will come and take me to space jail, but the series does have some compelling thoughts about race and why an African American man might have a very different idea of what it means to ‘be without fear’ than a white guy. 

I’m probably not the best qualified to muse on this for too long, but it definitely recontextualised some of my preconceived notions about the Lanterns, which I quite liked. 

Pseudo-intellectual ramblings aside, the real question for any thriller like this is: is the central mystery a good one, and does it live up to those comparisons to True Detective? 

Aaron Pierre is brilliant (Picture: HBO)

Well, yes, and no. 

I definitely think the mystery works; it’s intriguing, and by the last few episodes I was relieved I could binge them without having to wait a week for answers. But does it live up to True Detective? No.

That’s not me being mean; True Detective is a masterpiece, and Lanterns is very, very good; it’s just that they’re doing different things. 

You can definitely see True Detective DNA in the show, and it’s not just superficial.

There’s a clear ambition under the surface to make Lanterns something exceptional, but the show is a bit too interested in space lasers, ring slingin’, and making cute nods to the wider Green Lantern mythos (space squirrels included) for it to be considered a ‘grown-up show’ like True Detective.

The best thing about Lanterns is its cast (Picture: HBO)

But you know what? Sometimes I don’t want a grown-up show. Sometimes I want an action-packed, funny show about two space cops solving a space crime, and that’s what I got. 

In fact, there’s a definite argument to be made that Lanterns works so well because it understands that it doesn’t have to stop being a superhero show in order to be sophisticated.

Of course, Lantern’s greatest superpower is its cast. 

I think everyone is brilliant, from Garret Dillahunt, who plays the chief antagonist, to Kelly Macdonald, whose American accent is so convincing I didn’t even realise it was her until episode 2. 

Kelly Macdonald had me convinced she was American (Picture: HBO)

Still, this show belongs to Chandler and Pierre. Now the hack journalist in me wants to wax lyrical about their sizzling chemistry and how the pair come together like Mentos and Diet Coke to create something spectacular, but honestly I can’t do that.

The pair are both so good it would be churlish of me not to talk about them both separately. 

Chandler is sensational as the slightly weary and sardonic Hal; he gives it just the right amount of irreverent charm while still allowing the audience to see that beneath that green bodysuit, Hal is a very broken man. It’s such an impressive performance; I was stunned.

You’d be a fool to miss this (Picture: HBO)

Pierre, meanwhile, is just the man. Ever since I saw him punch his way through Shelby Springs in the woefully underrated Rebel Ridge, I knew he was a star, and this role just proves it. 

It’s not easy to make a character like John, who’s taciturn and stern, likeable, but Pierre gives him such a relatable humanity that it’s impossible not to fall in love with him. 

And of course, when they come together, it is like the aforementioned Mentos being dropped in Diet Coke.

Ultimately, then Lanterns is a near-perfect superhero show that should be mentioned in the same breath as the greats like The Penguin, Loki, and WandaVision. It’s funny, exciting, and there’s just enough emotional depth to it for ‘grown-ups’ to get their teeth into. 

So let those who worship evil TV’s blight beware their power… Lantern’s much better than just alright! 

Lanterns airs on HBO and HBO Max Sunday, August 16 in the US and on HBO Max in the UK on August 17.

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