HBO Picks Up 'Lanterns', 'Welcome To Derry', 'Harry Potter' Series From Max
The new DC Universe is breaking out into linear television, and taking two marquee IP TV series with it
The hierarchy of the HBO programming strategy is about to change. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned premium cable network has picked up Lanterns, the first TV series in DC Studios’s new DC Universe to be born in it, for eight episodes, and is bringing along the It prequel series Welcome to Derry and the Harry Potter series that were originally intended for Max.
It is the first implementation of a new strategy to move expensive scripted series from the streaming service to the linear network. It is unknown if this is a further deemphasis of the streamer as the streaming bubble pops, but that remains to be seen. Of course, this ensures all three series as weekly releases, and makes a release difference of maybe three-quarters of a day, as instead of the normal Max traffic hour of 3 AM Eastern, would arrive as the program begins in its HBO timeslot.
After being discovered as attached to the series a month ago as writers, it has been confirmed that Ozark showrunner Mundy will serve the same role for this series while Damon Lindelof, known for Lost and Watchmen, and comics writer Tom King, who has also been part of the studio’s writers’ room, will co-write the series with all three executive producing. It was long told that every DC Universe-set television series would be on Max. It was certainly part of why Dead Boy Detectives was allowed to go to Netflix. But now live action DC TV returns to life on linear, where the 2010s not only had it on HBO and the high volume of series on The CW, but CBS (Supergirl), Epix (Pennyworth), Fox (Gotham, Lucifer) Syfy (Krypton), and NBC (Constantine, Powerless).
When DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran first unveiled the slate for this initial “Gods and Monsters” chapter, they described Lanterns as a “huge HBO-quality event” that is “very much in the vein of True Detective” as a “terrestrial-based investigation story”, so now, after getting Mundy fresh off the latest season Night Country, Lanterns is going from “HBO-quality” to being HBO. Focusing on the two most well-known Green Lanterns of public consciousness, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, still currently not cast, it “plays a really big role leading into the main story that we’re telling across our film and television,” Safran teased at the time. “So this is a very important show for us.” The current synopsis specifically describes Hal as the veteran and John as the rookie, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.
The series replaced a long in-development series starring Green Lanterns that was one of the first originals announced pre-launch for HBO Max, which went through several of its own iterations. As of October 2020, it was to explore a multitude of Lanterns, including Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Alan Scott, and even completely new Lanterns before narrowing to Gardner and Scott, with those roles already cast before another narrowing pivot to John Stewart. From Berlanti Productions, Safran described it as a space opera. With this latest development, Gunn and Safran released a statement saying “We’re thrilled to bring this seminal DC title to HBO with Chris, Damon and Tom at the helm. John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC’s most compelling characters, and Lanterns brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU we’re launching next summer with Superman.”
Casey Bloys, the Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content said, “We are elated to be reuniting with both Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof as they partner with Tom for this fresh take on DC’s Green Lantern. As part of James and Peter’s vision for the DC Universe, this first new live action series will mark an exciting new era.” He also took time to explain the philosophy change, We felt like we had to delineate between an HBO show and a Max show,” Bloys said of that initial distinction. “The idea of using Warner Bros. IP as a delineation for Max felt right. At least that gives you a clear lane. But as we started producing those shows, we were using the same methods, the same kind of thinking, as how we would approach HBO shows. In a lot of cases, the same talent that has worked on HBO shows.” He continued “What we ended up with is shows at this scope and scale that look great, and great narratives and talent we’ve worked with,” Bloys added. “The idea of the delineation kind of started to feel unnecessary. Like, why are we doing this? Let’s just call them what they are: HBO shows.”
It should be noted that due to already-made overseas licensing and branding deals, the reconsiderations can only be for 2025 programming. So The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy which are for later this year, are still Max originals. As Bloys explained “We will start in 2025, although The Penguin would be an obvious fit as an HBO Original. Unfortunately, the process of licensing it internationally has already started.” Variety goes further in depth on the broader strategy but it would be a lot to get into.
On Wednesday, it was reported that indeed, the Harry Potter series, the biggest item of the prep launch showcase for the Max rebrand, would have a creative team with its own HBO pedigree. Succession’s Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod have boarded as its writer and director, respectively. Gardiner got the gig over other reported finalists Tom Moran and Kathleen Jordan. She was a consulting producer on the third and fourth seasons, having come from His Dark Materials, and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Mylod, who directed over a dozen episodes of Succession, such as the second episode “Sh*t Show at the F*ck Factory”, and the finale “With Open Eyes”, will direct multiple episodes here and be an executive producer as well. Her other credits include being co-executive producer of AMC’s Killing Eve and writing for Starz’s The Rook and Prime Video’s The Man In The High Castle while his include Entourage, the Minority Report series, Backstrom, and Shameless.
Currently, Welcome to Derry will star Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, Stephen Rider, and the returning Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, a casting that solidified it as a prequel to the 2017 and 2019 film adaptation rather than a new continuity. The Harry Potter series is set for 2026. While I have the chance as I have mostly tiptoed around talking about the franchise at all because of author Rowling’s sharp transphobic turn in the last 7+ years that I highly condemn and has forced a dissociation, can the media please stop asking the film actors whether they’ll appear but especially reprise roles they can’t possibly take because it’s a completely rebooted retelling? It’s frankly embarrassing and idiotic.
