‘Lanterns’ Just Delivered DC Studios’ Biggest HBO Max Debut Ever

Building a new DC Studios show around characters other than Batman or Superman is always a gamble. Without the instant recognition those icons carry, a series has to win audiences over almost entirely on the strength of its execution.

DC Studios took exactly that risk with its latest television offering, centering an entire series around two lesser-known Green Lantern characters and betting that a grounded, mystery-driven approach would resonate with viewers. Early signs suggest that bet has paid off in a major way.

‘Lanterns‘ has pulled in 9.3 million global viewers across HBO and HBO Max within its first three days of availability, making it the biggest series premiere for a DC Studios show on the platform to date. Of that total, 6.6 million viewers came from the United States alone, and the debut now ranks among the top five series premieres in HBO Max history overall.

Those numbers put ‘Lanterns’ ahead of several notable recent HBO originals. The series outperformed ‘IT: Welcome to Derry,’ which drew 5.7 million viewers in its first three days, and easily topped ‘The Penguin,’ which needed four days to reach 5.3 million U.S. viewers back in 2024. It also beat out ‘True Detective: Night Country,’ which opened to roughly 2 million viewers on its first night.

Within DC Studios’ own catalog, ‘Lanterns’ has now surpassed the premieres of ‘The Penguin,’ ‘Peacemaker,’ and the animated series ‘Creature Commandos’ to claim the top spot. The only recent HBO debut that edged it out domestically was ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,’ which pulled in 6.7 million U.S. viewers over its own first three days back in January.

Rather than leaning into the sprawling cosmic scale often associated with Green Lantern lore, ‘Lanterns’ takes a more grounded, mystery-driven approach to its source material. The series follows John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, and Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, as intergalactic cops investigating a murder in rural Nebraska, giving the show a tone closer to a detective drama than a traditional superhero series.

The cast also includes Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, and Laura Linney. Co-created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, the series was originally picked up as a Max Original back in June 2024 before shifting over to HBO as part of a broader content strategy shift.

The premiere’s success hasn’t come in isolation from critical reception either. ‘Lanterns’ currently holds scores around 94 percent from critics and 86 percent from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting the strong viewership is being matched by genuine enthusiasm rather than simple curiosity.

The show’s first episode has also held steady as the number one title on HBO Max’s daily Top 10 chart since its Sunday debut, pointing to sustained interest rather than a brief opening spike. New episodes continue airing weekly on Sunday nights.

For a franchise built around characters without the built-in name recognition of Batman or Superman, a debut this strong signals real confidence from audiences in DC Studios’ current direction. Landing the platform’s biggest DC premiere while also posting some of its strongest reviews gives the studio a genuinely encouraging data point as it continues building out its slate.

Whether ‘Lanterns’ can sustain this level of engagement across its full season remains to be seen, but its opening numbers have already set a new benchmark for what a DC Studios series can achieve on HBO Max.