HBO’s Lanterns more than delivered when it comes to being both a great comic book series and a great piece of television. Not only did the series thrive thanks to the dynamic between Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), but it also managed to revitalize interest in the Green Lantern franchise following the less-than-stellar Green Lantern movie from 2011. That’s a superhuman feat in and of itself, and Lanterns creators Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, and Tom King deserve credit for pulling that off.
While Pierre is slated to return as John Stewart in 2027’s Man of Tomorrow, there are still plenty of other series that manage to feature sci-fi tropes and elements alongside a compelling mystery or two. Here are five that make for the perfect binge-watch.
5
Watchmen
Streaming on: HBO Max
Lanterns isn’t the first time that Damon Lindelof has brought an iconic DC Comics series to life. In 2019, Lindelof served as the showrunner on Watchmen, an HBO series based on the legendary graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. What makes Watchmen stand out is that it’s fundamentally a sequel to the original comic, building on a world that was changed by the actions of Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons). Police officers are required to wear costumes after an attack by the Seventh Kalvary, a white supremacist group, made it necessary. One of these officers, Angela Abar (Regina King) — or “Sister Night”, as she’s known in costume — uncovers a mystery that ties to her family and one of Watchmen‘s key characters.
Much like Lanterns, Watchmen was met with mixed reception when it was first announced. Alan Moore’s displeasure with adaptations of his work was well known at this point, and most fans asked why they should tune in when there was already a movie adaptation. However, Watchmen won over critics thanks to the way that it built on the original comic’s events, while also weaving real history into its storytelling. It also weaves sci-fi elements into its narrative thanks to the presence of Doctor Manhattan, while still staying grounded. Fans looking for something that’s similar to Lanterns definitely need to give Watchmen a look.
4
Andor
Streaming on: Disney+
What makes Lanterns stand out from other superhero TV shows is that while it’s part of DC Studios’ creative slate, it feels tonally different from projects like Superman and Peacemaker. It’s proof that a creator can enter a long-standing franchise and put their own creative stamp on it, and if fans are looking for a series that follows in the same spirit, they need to check out Andor. Taking place before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he gets swept up in the growing Rebellion. Cassian’s growth from thief to revolutionary drives the story, as does the machinations of Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) and the struggles of Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly).
In the same way that Lanterns stands apart from the rest of DC Studios’ work, Andor stands out from other Star Wars projects because it takes a hard look at the costs of rebellion. Cassian’s journey sees him losing his mother and the love of his life, Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona); he’s also imprisoned for months in an Imperial prison. Likewise, he bears witness to a horrifying genocide on the planet Ghorman as the Empire strips it for material for the Death Star. This approach, which comes courtesy of showrunnner Tony Gilroy, adds more depth to Rogue One and the Star Wars universe as a whole. It also shows that you can do so much more with Star Wars as a brand, which is a lesson more streamers should take with their established franchises.
3
Heroes
Streaming on: Netflix, Tubi
Believe it or not, there was a time when Marvel and DC characters weren’t dominating movie and television screens. True, there were shows like Smallville, but it appealed more to hardcore fans than new viewers. Things changed when Heroes made its debut in 2006 and took the world by storm. Heroes is unique in that while its characters did possess superhuman powers like being able to fly and stop time, they were normal people. Yet they start banding together to save the world from an impending apocalypse, leading to the now-iconic tagline: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
Heroes did have a lengthy run of four seasons, but most fans agree that Season 1 is the zenith. It’s when the show was firing on all cylinders, as its cast was full of future stars, including Zachary Quinto, and it managed to translate the larger-than-life elements that filled comic books to the small screen. Demand for fan-favorite characters derailed creator Tim Kring’s plans to make Heroes into an anthology show, and the 2007 writers’ strike cut Season 2 short. By the time Heroes returned, it was a shadow of its former self, but it was the first series to find humanity in superhumanity.
2
Fringe
Streaming on: Pluto TV, Hulu, Prime Video
Anyone looking for sci-fi elements and a partnership like Lanterns should give Fringe a try. Fringe chronicles the journey of the Fringe Division, a secretive arm of the FBI that investigates cases related to a parallel universe. The Fringe Division consists of FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble), and Walter’s son Peter (Joshua Jackson). As the series progresses, Fringe slowly ramps up its sci-fi elements, leading to some truly shocking reveals. None of them top the Season 1 finale “There’s More Than One of Everything”, which has one of the best final shots in TV history.
Long before multiverse stories were all the rage, Fringe tackled this concept head-on, and used it to explore questions of identity while also raising the series’ stakes. The end result was the X-Files successor Fox had been looking for, and one of the rare sci-fi series that the network didn’t cut down in its prime. Much like Heroes, Fringe also led to bigger things for its creators J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; the trio would reboot Star Trek for the silver screen, which reunited them with Leonard Nimoy.
1
Westworld
Episodes available to purchase on Apple TV and YouTube
A decade ago, HBO launched its most ambitious attempt at a sci-fi series with Westworld. Inspired by the Michael Crichton movie of the same name, Westworld takes place in the far future, where the Delos Corporation has created a Western-themed amusement park full of lifelike androids that are willing to satisfy a wide range of appetites. Anyone who’s watched The Terminator or any sci-fi story centering on artificial intelligence knows what happens next: the androids start to gain free will and eventually turn on humanity. What makes Westworld stand out from the pack is that it’s built on a series of mysteries, including a “maze” within the park and the revelation that sentient “hosts” already exist.
Westworld was billed by many critics and fans as a worthy successor to Game of Thrones, though ironically, it wound up mirroring Heroes. After two stellar seasons, fans left in droves following Season 3, and Season 4 came and went with a whisper. On top of that, Westworld was one of the series that was axed in the “Great Purge” of HBO Max’s library in 2022, meaning that fans will have to track down episodes digitally or buy the DVDs. Still, it helped pave the way for thought-provoking sci-fi, including Lanterns.
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