Superman & Lois: What the Must Watch reviewers think
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell review Superman & Lois on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The latest DC Comics spin-off starring Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf) and Elizabeth Tulloch (Grimm) sees the Last Son of Krypton and Daily Planet journalist become working parents.
BBC / DC, Warner Bros Entertainment
Hayley says: “Bland and uninteresting”
"Unlike everything that’s coming out of the MCU right now, it’s simple and easy to follow. These characters are tied up in other DC TV shows - like The Flash and Batwoman and such - but not to the extent that you can’t follow what’s going on in this one without seeing those. You don’t need to have watched any Superman TV show or movie before, this gives you the entire backstory in the first five minutes about where he came from, what he does, who Lois is, and who knows what about his powers.
"It’s quite bland and uninteresting, and everything is quite cliched, right down to the painful-to-watch irritating teenage sons of Lois and Clark. But this is a show that’s on at Saturday tea time: it’s not a dark, gritty reboot that’s supposed to launch an enthralled internet fandom of deep nerdery. It’s a show for kids and it does that job just fine. At times it can be so deeply earnest that it feels like a family show from the 1970s, and then they'll put in some CGI nonsense where Superman rushes off to save the world. Basically, it’s Superman, but this time his biggest worry isn’t saving the world, it’s just trying to be a good dad. I think it might be too light and corny for some."
BBC / DC, Warner Bros Entertainment
Scott says: “Kind of boring”
“I do admire it in some ways. Normally when I watch a show I try to go in blind, and act as if I am a viewer, but I made an exception with this one. The superhero world can be so messy and complicated, backtracking to previous franchises and storylines that you may or may not have seen, and I assumed that this was going to do the same. In my research something stood out to me. It said ‘Lois and Clark Kent face their greatest challenge yet - dealing with being a working parent in today’s society!’ Immediately my heart sank! Surely the purpose of superheroes is to have escapism from all this realism?
“I did like some of the grounded elements, like at the ‘Daily Planet’ where Clark Kent works, it’s suffering with the pitfalls of clickbait journalism and falling subscribers. It has a new billionaire owner stripping the title to parts, a reflection of what’s happening with major newspapers in America. I also liked the realism of the two sons, and they deal with one of their children’s anxiety in a really grounded way.
“The issue I found with this is that it leant too far into the realism and was therefore kind of boring. I think people want something that’s suspenseful and that’s going to keep people hooked rather than an hour long episode about a couple trying to sort out the deeds to a barn.”
BBC / DC, Warner Bros Entertainment
Season one of Superman & Lois is available now on BBC iPlayer.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.
This week, the team speak to TV writer Jack Thorne and production manager Katie Player from the pressure group ‘Underlying Health Condition’ about increasing disability access in the TV industry. Plus, reviews of Landscapers on Sky Atlantic and Robin Robin on Netflix.
