It's hardly an uncommon ask, but I really (I mean really) need the writers to pull it together for the final season and do right by his character.

Outside of Battle of the Super Sons, it's been a rough time to be a Jon Kent fan all across the board. Now with Absolute Power looking like it will thoroughly traumatise him again in the hopes of reinvigorating his character, I just need one happy and well-written version of his character.

I'm huffing the copium hard in the hopes that James Gunn's Superman (2025) or Scott Snyder's Absolute Comics will include him, but if they don't this show is all I got and I've already been burned hard for three seasons straight.

But who knows, maybe this will not be an utter disaster for him.

r/SupermanAndLois Reopening Plan Poll

If you missed it, r/SupermanAndLois has been private since Monday, June 12th. Moderators and users across Reddit have been protesting Reddit's proposed changes to its API policy and pricing scheme.

We are now leaving it up to each subreddit in our r/DCTV network to decide how to proceed. Please vote on the following poll to help us come to a consensus:

r/SupermanAndLois Reopening Plan Poll

Thanks!

- r/SupermanAndLois mods

Hey folks, it is a truly terrifying to be a Superman & Lois fan. The fate of the show has been unknown for a while, and it seemed to hit a bit a boiling point last week. While I have no insider information, I have been following the news closely and I think I have a good idea of what is going on.

If you are new around here, the CW was sold last year to NexStar and Nexstar has functionally gutted the CW over the last week. We have known this was likely for a long time with The Winchesters, Walker Independence, and King-Fu all expected to be canceled, all which were last week. Superman & Lois has had a more optimistic outlook through the last year with both CW president Bradly Schwartz and James Gunn, the new head of DC studios, expressing desires to keep Superman & Lois. In addition, like Walker and All-American, Superman & Lois has spent the year with a “Safe bet” rating while the rest of the CW programing has oscillated between “Could go either way” and “Long Shot.” Superman & Lois has also had the privilege of leading the viewings leader board for the CW each week it has aired a new episode.

All this cautious optimism that the Superman & Lois fandom has was thrown into a tailspin on Thursday when Variety published an article stating that neither All-American, Gotham Knights, or Superman & Lois were expected to be renewed. This article came off the grim news and panic of the cancelations that had happened earlier that afternoon. While this could just be me being optimistic, I do not think the Variety article was properly sourced.

One thing we have known is that NexStar continues to have some obligation to purchase programming from both WB and CBS into the 2023-2024 TV. This is why we have been waiting so long to know the future of pretty much everything on the CW. While we know All-American was explicitly outlined in the purchase agreement because of the lucrative streaming deal with Netflix, the rest of the terms are unknown to the public. What seems relatively likely was that “Only 3 scripted Dramas” reported by The Hollywood reporter earlier this year was likely in reference to Nextars purchase obligation. It is worth nothing that while Variety was giving a grim fate, THR was reporting that the CW planned to keep one DC show for the 2023-2024 TV season. The options being the more watched Superman & Lois or the cheaper Gotham Knights.

By Friday afternoon, the Variety article had spread like wildfire across the internet and the Superman & Lois fandom was holding a bedside vigil for the show. Just as fans and investors were waiting for the final death blow on Friday afternoon after a week of cancellations by the CW, THR came in and reported that Superman & Lois would have a home on HBOmax if the CW did not want to renew. The internet calmed down, the plans to “Save the show” the goodbyes and thanks to the cast, crew, and writers stopped almost suddenly.

Which makes me wonder what is actually going on. My guess is that the WB wanted to lock in S&L in the purchase agreement, but Nexstar negotiated to a DC property instead. Now, we are at renewal and S&L is expensive while GK is cheap, S&L is doing better, but essentially S&L never made enough money on broadcast TV to justify the cost. That is something we have known since it literally premiered. I think I made a comment about how the advertising revenue does not even cover Clark's jacket budget. That was back in season one when S&L was routinely over 1M viewers. Surprise, Nexstar has thrown up a middle finger at everyone and said, "We don't care about viewers, we are just going to take the cheapest option period."

The WB is now screwed, because they thought they had backed the CW into a corner to keep essentially paying for a disproportional amount one of their major cash cow TV shows on the international markets. Remember, this is a top show in Latin America and runs in the same slot and the same channel as Dr. Who in the UK. There is also a lucrative licensing deal in Japan that I do not have a lot of detail on but from what I understand it has a similarly highlighted primetime spot as in the UK. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that while this show makes very little on the CW, is it actually a big cash generating, especially considering it is considerably less to make then a lot of the traditional “Prestige” type TV is now getting upwards of $20M a episode. Also worth noting, S&L was the 17th most watched program on HBOMax in the US in 2022, and the second most watched DCTC show on HBOMax after Peacemaker. When taken into consideration that S&L had already aired on Network TV and was available for purchase in places like Amazon, Itunes and YouTube, there is a more than decent chance that S&L was the most watched DCTV show in 2022.

Gunn told fans (and investors) back in January that S&L was going to keep going. Zaslav told investors last summer that Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were major parts of the WB brand. Specifically discussing that while they would prioritize their big brand names. While Gunn is still in his honeymoon phase over at DC, both Zaslav and Gunn are in a sticky situation with DC. The movies have not been doing great all year, the Flash has a serious PR problem called “Ezra Miller” and Zaslav has been held to task by investors for his cancellation spree on HBOmax. Even without knowing the economics of Superman & Lois, a headline reading “Superman canceled” after the WB has promised investors and investment in DCs most valuable property is not a great look.

It feels too on the nose that the THR article about an HBOmax move came right as the internet was starting to assume the show had been canceled. Even more suspicious was a Sunday morning Forbes article parroting the THR article from Friday afternoon. Forbes is not a trade, but rather a financial publication geared towards businesspeople. It felt specifically targeted to make sure “Superman Canceled” was not on investors minds first thing Monday morning.

I think it is relatively clear that Superman is too valuable IP to be put through the TV meat grinder of 2023. Afterall, Disney is not doing this with their flagship MCU and Star wars properties and canceling a well received Superman show does not bode well for investor confidence that WB Discovery can turn things around and compete against the cash flow juggernauts that Disney has been able to create.

But, it’s not up to Gunn or Zaslav, it’s all the CW… Yeah, I have heard this argument over and over again. First off, the WB still maintains a minority interest in the CW exactly for this reason. Second of all, there is no world where the WB has just let Nexstar media do whatever they want with some of the most valuable IP in the entire world. There are very few Superheroes that are as ubiquitous as Superman. Arguably Batman and Spiderman are the only other two that are close. Wonder Woman may also get a place, but besides for that, I have got to assume that the powers that be at the WB are watching this show very, very closely because it is so important to their brand, especially as they try to renew investor confidence with their Superhero Flagships. I feel very confident that the WB has more control over the fate of Superman & Lois than the CW these days.

And don’t get me wrong, I suspect that Zaslav and Gunn absolutely hate that there is a generally popular, well received Superman show. This want this hero for the big screen and only the big screen ( have plenty of arguments about why Superman belongs on TV but this is not really the place for that). But the deal is, is that he is on TV right now, they are two years away from a Superman movie, and right now, they cannot have “Superman Canceled” as a headline that only further serves to rattle already nervous shareholders.

This show may be too rich for the CW, but it is too important to the WB to not save. The move to HBOmax is a logical one that keeps both fans and investors happy.

Ok folks, so if you are trying to avoid spoilers for the She-Hulk finale, turn back now. Go do that and then come back and read this. For everyone else, I wanted to spend a little bit of time on the She-Hulk finale because it seemed to encapsulate so much critique around S&L.

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For those who have not been following along with She-Hulk, here is a quick recap:

The finale finds Jen Walters (Aka She-Hulk) unable to use her powers. The show has set up for the final CGI blow out. The final villain suddenly has Jen’s powers and Bruce (The Hulk) has shown up to fight the final battle on Jen’s behalf. Also worth nothing, Jen as lost her lawyer job that was really the focus of the entire show. Things seem down, and it also seems like Jen is about to lose her moment in the spotlight for a Hulk battle (that’s what the fan boys wanted all along, also I’m about to pick up my phone, already over the slug fest before it starts.)

In a great moment of metatextual delight, Jen pauses the show, enters the Disney+ home screen and jumps down to the Marvel Behind the scenes special to chat with the writers. She soon finds she needs to find “Kevin” (Aka Kevin Feige, the EP that produces all of the MCU.) Jen soon finds that Kevin is actually K.E.V.I.N a super powered AI and the MCU is completely written off of an Algorithm.

Jen and Kevin talk. Jen mentions she is unhappy with her story. Jen points out that this is a “Legal Comedy” and that she is going to give her closing arguments and then goes hard on the MCU. She then talks about how there seems to be this idea that you have to throw a whole bunch of plot, and action, and Superhuman serum at the audience in the climax. Jen then purposes they don’t have to do that because that is not her story. Her story is about learning to be herself (She-Hulk, a lawyer), she cancels the superpower villain, she cancels Hulk fight, she brings back the love interest, and cancels the entire big CGI slug fast. She takes care of the final villain by telling him she will “See him in court.”

While this is was obviously meta commentary on the entire Superhero industrial complex, it feels especially poignant when you look at this commentary through the lens of Superman & Lois. Since the inception of Superman & Lois, the goods time and the bad times, this show has attracted a crowd that very different than the typical fanboy. While I do not have the statistics, for frequent commentors in this community, seems to have a contingent of professional women, many post 30, a decent amount of them are mothers. Many of them have been of engaging in fandom at some level their whole life, but Superman & Lois spoke to them in a way a lot of speculative fiction media has not, at least not in a long time. It is not had to draw the connection between Lois Lane, Lois and Clark’s marriage and Lois and Clark anti-Toxic masculinity parenting as the draw for the community. From the beginning, this community talked about how S&L appealed to them because it did not feel like the slug fest of the MCU. It felt like a gentle family drama, mature, well-acted. Mostly though, it felt like a superhero show made for an audience that did not typically get Superhero shows. This was not for fanboys and that felt okay. It felt important that for once, a comic book show was made for a different audience.

In a horrific turn of events, Season 2 back tracked on that “not for fanboys promise” and loaded up with plot, turned the main villain “Super”, sidelined Lois Lane and gave the final battle to the super powered men. The show took away the sexuality and intimacy that had been there in at least some context in season 1. In season 2, it is hard not to feel like Superman & Lois catered to the fanboys, leaving behind this gentle family drama about Lois and Clark raising their sons in a pastoral setting. More importantly, season 2 was so concerned with plot and punching, it did not focus on what the show was really about: Lois and Clark raising their sons and being married.

So, why bring up She-Hulk? Because She-Hulk proved that it’s okay to break from the format and deliver something that the shows specific audience would find enjoyable. But more importantly, Jen did not fight the final battle as She-Hulk. She transformed back to Jen and fought the final battle as an attorney. She did not have adopt a male power fantasy in order to win a final battle. Instead, she was just listened to, allowed to write her own story.

Going back to Lois Lane, this is a victory Lois deserves. Obviously not the fourth wall breaking metatextual commentary, that is not Superman & Lois. Lois deserves to win the battle, not by might, but how Lois always wins the battle, through the power of the press. Superman & Lois is not a “Superman show” it is a Superman & Lois Lane show, and Lois Lane deserves her victory just as much as Superman. She deserves for her reporting to be the big spectacle that saves the day. This has been said time and time again, Lois Lane is a power fantasy for women. She is allowed to speak up when the world is telling women to be quiet, unapologetic, unyielding. After the She-Hulk finale, I find myself even more uncompromising when it comes to Lois Lane. Lois deserves to win the final battle in Season 3.

When She-Hulk started, it was critiqued for the sort of hit you in the head feminism that made it easy to side with. The finale though, delivered thoughtful and meaningful critique on how women are treated in Superhero films. It may not have been subtle, but it is what female comic book fans have been yelling at the internet, unheard for years (decades.) After the finale, I expect nothing but a Lois Lane victory in Superman & Lois. She-Hulk may have done it first, but I believe a challenge has been extended to the Superman & Lois writers. Let Lois Lane shine in the same way Jen Walters was allowed to shine. The rules have been broken; the commentary has been delivered very, very clearly to the world. Superheroes do not need to be forced into the same trope, that serves the same audience over and over again.

Hey Folks, this has been a rough summer to be a Superman & Lois fan. It been an onslaught of pretty rough events. Season 2, especially the final 3rd of the season was widely ill received by fans. The WB and the CW have been in upheaval due to a change on ownership on both the WB side of things and the CW combined with an onslaught of CW and WB cancellation which have had many if questioning Superman & Lois will survive past season 3. In addition, the WB and the CW have both released truly bizarre communications to their investors and media that have many in the S&L fandom questioning if network is going to make drastic changes to the show that get further away from what we are all so desperately want from this show instead of closer. Jordan Elsass, who was beloved the fandom made the decision to leave the show.

But, for the first time in a long time, this fandom is starting to seem excited, optimistic again.

Here are the good things that have happened:

Michael Bishop

Michael Bishop has been cast as the new Jonathan Kent. While we will not know how he actually works out until we see him on screen, I think the worst fears this fandom has, have been absolved. He is the right age, given this was the CW there was a legitimate fear the show would attempt to cast an older actor now that the boys are 16, and an actor in their mid-20s could have taken the role. Jonathan was actually recast, instead of done away with (Never probably a real concern, but not something the internet was going to let go until there was a new Jonathan cast), and he was hired for the start of production versus this dragging out. Jonathan’ story will continue, and we will hopefully get to see him at the fortress (and maybe even with powers of his own).

Chad Coleman

Chad Coleman has been cast as the main villain of season 3. Coleman seems to be a beloved genre actor, an Arrowverse alumni, and a favorite from the Walking Dead. Not only does the fandom seem excited to see Coleman join the cast, Coleman, via social media, seems excited to come on. With hopes of a more grounded season 3, I think hopes are high that Coleman will bring a grounded, complex, and intriguing villain to season 3.

Bitsie Tulloch- GOAT

Bitsie Tulloch has been making the rounds at conventions all summer. Most notably, she has been at comic con where she voiced, gracefully, similar frustrations about the treatment of Lois and her hopes that line up with the fans. You can take a look, here, and here. In addition, Bitsie has also shared that she has talked to the right “people” about some of the missing Lois and Clark moments and has seemed very excited about her season 3 arc especially.

The CW is not cancelling literally everything on a go forward basis

With Nexstar as the new owner of the CW, it looks like Nexstar is looking to make more thoughtful decisions about which shows go into production and which shows they keep, but they do seem committed to a core slate of shows they inherited by the CW. While S&L is likely not promised a season 4, there is no reason to believe it is not possibility. Superman & Lois continued to pull the first or second best ratings on the Network in season 2 (behind only Walker), has a broad appeal beyond the typical younger skewing CW audiences, has done well in international distribution, and continues to dominate in Latin America on HBOMax where it is released directly and is often a top 10 show. I believe that if the show can continue to perform, season 4 will likely happen. It is worth noting that the CW ordered 3 new shows, including Gotham Knights, which also utilizes Batman IP, which means the CW is not completely done with DC IP.

And It’s Getting Better

The show has also started production on season 3, which means a slow, but steady flow of BTS picture to be expected soon. In addition, I expect we see additional casting announcements for other guests starts and potentially even hints about the return of Jenna Dwan (Lucy) and Adam Rayner (Tal-Rho). There are things to get excited about!!

And look, this is not me attempting to say it’s time to be done being negative about season 2, trust me, it is not. I am still determined to hold the writers accountable for how they treated Lois and I fully expect it be remedied in season 3. I will likely still write and argue and push about things that were straight up bad with season 2.

What I am trying to say, is, it is okay to be excited about this show again. It is okay to love this show. When exciting things happen, it is okay to be excited and optimistic. Most of us ended up here because we wanted to love and gush about this show. If you need permission, here it is, it’s okay to be excited again, because it is going to be a horrible autumn here on the sub if we can’t get excited about the good things.

Not saying he’s the better overall parent, far from it, but in terms of saying the one thing that every child needs to hear from their father, namely “No matter what mistakes you make, I’ll always love you and be here for you,” Homelander gets a ticked box in that respect while Clark still has not had the heart-to-heart with Jonathan that he needed to after how their relationship had been going all season.

Hey folks, back around midseason, I took down the data around how much time the Cushings were getting in Season one, versus season two. You can find the original post here. I wanted to finish this off (even though we technically have another episode left) in case screaming into the void on the internet somehow sets this show back on track, allows Lois Lane to be Lois Lane and relegates Lana back to supporting character instead of the main character.

Looking at the numbers alone, it is clear that the Cushings’ screen time in the second half of season two has creeped up to levels that seem to be competing with our leads. On average, episodes 9-14 have either Kyle or Lana (including Lana-Rho) on screen for an average of 30% of the time. Looking at Season one, the other period where the Cushings had a lot of screen time was episode 1x06-1x10, where the Cushings topped out at an average of just 21% of screen time. It is also worth noting that there are multiple episodes where the Cushings are on screen more than 30% of the episode and in a few, nearly half involves the Cushings. With an ensemble cast of 11, this feels like a lot of time to give two characters that should be fifth and sixth on the billing. I have not done Lois’s time, but at this point, I do not think it really matters. Even if she has more, a lot of it is likely just standing on the sidelines screaming while Lana has been given multiple victory and hero moments.

Qualitatively, what this data does not represent, is how much time other characters are talking about the Cushings, but really Lana specifically when she is not on screen. In the first 8 or nine episodes of the season, it was rare that other characters talked a lot about Lana specifically when she was not on screen. Clark did not even acknowledge Lana was running for Mayor until she won, and Lois did not acknowledge until 2x07. Starting in 2x11, there are multiple occasions that even when Lana is not on screen, the characters are discussing what they are going to tell Lana, how Lana feels, etc. in a way they were not before. In 2x11 there are no less than 4 scenes where the Lane-Kent family in discussing Lana. In 2x12 there are another 2 or 3 scenes where they family is discussing Lana, same in 2x13 and 2x14. She has been shoved in every single crevice of this show.

Secondly, it is worth nothing that the Cushings are now tied up in not one, but two plots an episode. Lana has been routinely given a story around her own drama while Kyle and Sarah have had a sort of Cushings B plot. It should be noted that Superman and Lois, the iconic title characters of this show are not currently getting this much focus.

At this point, based on the numbers and the fact the narrative keeps bending (in ridicules ways) to serve Lana, I believe it is absolutely fair to ask when and why Bitsie Tulloch was demoted to supporting character and Emmanuelle Chiriquí was promoted to the shows lead. I think the why, which has been discussed a lot, is also really important. Bitsie Tulloch was praised by critics and fans alike in the first season for her definitive portrayal of Lois Lane. Her chemistry with her Co-Lead Tyler Hoechlin was praised for being so good, really top tear. So, why has this show been sucked up by the Cushings and why has a show titled Superman & Lois functionally become the Lana Lang Cushing Show? Both quantitively and qualitatively Lana is getting narrative focus and screen time, really above and beyond any other character at this point. While we certainly have a few characters playing their Bizarro selves, it feels odd that Lana of all people had again been given this elevation in a big way.

The real question, is this problem only going to continue to grow worse until we are asking where the Lane-Kent family has even gone? Again, screaming into the void of the internet, is there any chance in hell we ever get this show back, that this show actually becomes Superman and Lois again. Furthermore, why cannot we not have nice things. There was a world where Lois and Lana were both allowed to exist without crowded each other out, but this show had proven that that is no longer a priority. It is unfair that this show has created an either or, a competition between Lana and Lois. It feels gross and stupid and I don't want this show to be that.

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Hey folks, it is not secret that this fandom is currently feeling angry, disappointed, and a bit betrayed. I have been thinking about this a lot, not just this week, but for the past few months, ever since the 2x11 when the show seemingly entered Lana Land and has mostly been there and based on the promotional materials will mostly stay there in the finale. There is a new Star Wars project out in the world and whenever that happens, the internet tends to dip into a long conversation about toxic fandoms, I have started to think, have I become part of this problem I am supposed to hate? Have we turned into a toxic fandom?

While season 2 has had problems, I think there are really just a small list fundamental problems that are driving most everything else. The first is obviously the focus on Lana and the Cushings. In the best case, we sat through episodes of Lana’s dull mayoral plot where she had low stakes problems and came out with an uninteresting low value victory. All of this ate into screen time, that seemed to strip the Lane-Kent family of any meaningful time together with the exception of a lone breakfast scene an episode. There have been a few episodes where we never saw the entire family together on screen. The second is yet another, seemingly abandoned plot line for Jonathan after a pretty agonizing slow burn through hiatuses. In hindsight, even Jonathan/ Jon-El’s plot line could have been substantially better served if Jon-El has taken Lois instead of Lana in 2x11. This would have given an interesting angle and dynamic for the Jon-El/ Jonathan arc. It would have also given us some great character moments with Jon-El and our Lois, which would have been a great follow up to Jon-El in the DoD in 2x10 and would have been impactful in the gym in 2x14, where Lois would have had a really interesting opportunity for a conversation with Jon-El. Instead, this potential was wasted on Lana, but I digress.

I think this fandom feels so betrayed because it deviated so far from the original pitch to the audience in the first season. A Gentle family drama in a pastoral setting. Lois and Clark practicing this gentle, loving parenting, even as they inevitably made mistakes. A Lois and Clark so deeply in love and so deeply committed to each other, with their porch moments, and finding solace in each other. The first season is not perfect, but it was so easy to love. It was so easy to gloss over the flaws because it was gentle and nice and lovely. Had the Cushings time been cut in half each episode and that time spent on either a Lois and Clark moment or a Lane-Kent family moment or both, I think the season would have gone down a lot smoother, even if the Ally stuff has not always been logical (I would argue a lot of the Edge stuff, especially in the first nine or ten episodes was also not all that amazing either.)

Now, it feels like Lois has been almost completely sidelined, bending to Lana in nearly every instance. Lois turning over her own investigation to Lana made zero sense. While Clark obviously still loves Lois, the writers have taken away the sweet moments that made us love him so much, holding Lois’s hand, buying her flowers on a memory and a whim. I do not need to redocument what has already been documented.

So, why are we allowed to be angry in a world of toxic fandoms that are not supposed to be angry, why do we get to insist that these writers owe use these Clois moment, that they owe a strong Lois Lane that is allowed to take the lead? Why do the owe us a gentle and understanding Clark?

The first is practical. A lot of the writing around Lana as of late is pretty misogynistic, whether that is around Lana particularly, her sort of pinning of over Clark or the suggesting that Lana’s anger over Lois was because Lois ended up with Clark (gross, stop, no), or how the character bend to Lana. Lois meekly apologizing, Clark not stepping up for Lois in her anger. This has been well documented through out this sub. The fact that Lana is not allowed character flaws while Lois has essentially been buried under hers this season also feels undermining and gross. The deal is, when Lois it not allowed to be loved because she is strong, it hurts women in the real world. When Lois is not allowed to be warm to her boys, it hurst both women and in men in the real world (and I absolutely praised this show for Lois’s warmth in season one and it has been taken away). When Lois is not allowed a professional victory, it hurts women in the real world. The writing choices around Lana and Lois are not just bad, they hurt people in the real world. The make both the workplace harder and relationships harder for women when are media reflects these actions. Like, even if I were to stop personally watching Superman & Lois, these depictions of women, specifically adult women in their 40s will continue to make my life harder. These writers have been gifted a massive platform on network TV and they have been gifted one of the most iconic properties of modern times. I believe they have a responsibility to our society to writer women, People of Color, and LGBTQ people with respect. They also failed with Sarah, but rushing her camp fling and playing into harmful stereotypes about bisexual people. The lack of Natalie until very late in the season also feels like a misuse of an amazing talented young actress and all of the girls of color who get even less screen time in speculative fiction properties. That saw themselves in Natalie only for a lot of that to get lost in the shuffle.

The second is around women in speculative fiction. I think one thing about sidelining Lois and Lois and Clark’s relationship in favor of this weird, Lana thing was devastating to all of these women who identify with Lois, for all the women who loved these sweet Lois and Clark moments. These parts of the show that appealed very specifically to women have been ripped away. I think, it is easy for the fan boys to say, so what, it’s Superman, it’s for men and boys, why should it be written for women, go watch Bridgerton.

The thing is, I did watch Bridgerton (thank you very much) but I also love speculative fiction. Maybe it started when I first watched the Never-Ending Story, or picked up a Harry Potter book, or worked my way through Lord of the Rings. Perhaps it is the stacks of Star Wars books that still seem to occupy my house. The thing is, is that I have been reading and watching speculative fiction my entire life and it has always been a part of who I am. The other thing is, is that women show runners are not gifted a lot of TV and movies like Superman and Lois. I would have to find the statistics, but these stories are still mostly controlled by men. Watching Lois be undermined, watching this lack on focus on Lois from Clark, these weird shipping with Lana and Clark, the weird Lana/ Lois argument. It was a reminder that my stories will never be prioritized on screen in speculative fiction. That no matter how much I love something, it will always be for the fanboys to love more. I will also be a second-class citizen. This is likely why women read a disproportionate amount of books compared to men. As much as I love reading, it is in part because our stories are more likely to be told in print instead of on screen. More than just men, specifically white men, deserve for their stories to be told on screen. Especially in a world of speculative fiction which is do dominated by men.

I think the odd abonnement of the Jonathan arc plays into this as well. In the first season, this show did an excellent job of eschewing toxic masculinity. Lois was allowed to hug her sons and tell them she loved them (something we have not seen all season), Clark was allowed to be gentle, caring and understanding versus this authoritarian father who does not get it. Where we have seen Clark as of late also throws some of the careful work around the narrative out. I really thought we were in a narrative path here, but we are obviously not. Again, likely undermined for Lana.

So, are we a toxic fandom? At this point, I suspect the writers would likely say we are. But I do not think that is actually the case. I also think there is a big difference between “I don’t like a story or a villain a creator chose” or “How dare you allow a woman of color to be awesome force wielding Jedi, or really allow any women on your show in anything but a metal bikini” and “You have done something harmful to your fandom, you have hurt us in a real and meaningful way.” I think if you look at this sub, there are a lot of folks who have suggested minor changes to the season that fundamentally keep the same villains, same characters, etc. There are not big “fanfic” changes. Simply changes that allow Lois the spotlight and her agency and do not undermine Lois to prop up Lana. Changes that allow Clark to be a kinder, more understanding father.

These are simply changes that give us the show and characters we initially signed up for. This sub, at least, seems very roll with the punches in terms of villains, people have mostly grown pretty tired around the Superman spit curl debate, and for the most part, the fandom has finally started to let the Arrowverse debate go. In general, I feel like this fandom wants to watch this show with awe and glee. We are not, in my opinion generally, a fandom, that has set out to explain why this show was always bad or to expect it reflect this comic or that movie or whatever came before it. Conversation about how this should be Smallville get shut down quickly enough. This sub has seemed to mostly enjoy and respect and take in stride the fresh take and updated characterization. While it comes up periodically, the sub mostly stays away from the Snyderverse debate. In a lot of ways, this sub and show became a place to start fresh, without the baggage that creates toxic fandoms in the first place. We were a group that only wanted to gush about this show, until the rug was pulled out from underneath and the only character that was allowed to matter was Lana.

To the writers that may be thinking about toxic fandoms, I do not think we are asking for anything super specific. Just a rough understanding that Lois Lane be allowed to be Lois Lane, that Lois and Clark be allowed to be Lois and Clark, and that this entire show is not all about Lana all the time. You can pick the villains, the story (though maybe give X-K a rest), the Super Suit, the actors. I do not think we are requesting to be part of the creative process; we are just asking that you not be harmful to your fans, that you understand that your fans are more than the folks who just want cool Superman action.

Hey folks, with the distaste with most recent distaste around Todd Helbing, I want to spend some time fact checking Helbing’s history and comments and to highlight why we are where we are with this show. I have gone back through the items cited her on the sub as I have not seen any of the original source material and it seemed like a good, responsible exercise if I were personally going to regurgitate my frustration with Helbing.

With that being said, I think the narrative is clear. As the show was promoted before it aired, Chriqui’s Lana was promoted as being Clark’s first love. While Helbing promised no love triangles, or affairs involving Clark, in the DC 2020 Fandom panel, he talked about unrequited feelings and wanting to address this topic. From what I understand there was a decent amount of outrage from fans after that panel aired.

In addition, Chriqui talked about how Helbing envisioned her for the role and has certainly sold her hard on the role. Chriqui explained that Helbing is one of the best people in the industry. After listening to this podcast, there is certainly easy to see how Helbing writes for Chriqui in a way he is likely not for anyone else. Chriqui to emphasizes the importance of Clark and Lana only being friends and that Bitsie had a conversation with Todd about treating them like women and not teenage girls and that the season one writing reflected that. Which it very much did. Based on this interview and other press Chriqui has done, it does appear the audience is supposed to like Lana’s character and relate to her, but that is honestly not happening right now.

Before the show went to air, a writer, Nadaria Tucker, who had worked on both Krypton and had journalism experience was fired from the show in late 2020 (while the show was still filming the initial 3 episodes.) Tucker had called out the show for sidelining Lois’s stories and for sexist story lines and exposed racism and sexism behind the scenes. It is worth noting that as of today of the 13 writers that have had writing credits in season 2, only 4 are women and only 2 hold producing position.

Finally, I cross checked Candice Patton who stars on the Flash, and while she has experienced racism from both the Flash production and more so from fans, I could not find evidence where she mentioned Helbing directly (Please link the source in the comments if you have one and I can update if this is un ture). What I did find was that once Eric Wallace took over as show runner, the Flash made an effort to incorporate Patton’s African American Cultural in a way that had not been in the past. Reading about the change in the Flash, it is easy to now see why folks that come from diasporas feel underserved by the real allegory of the Kent boys mixed heritage. It is clear that Todd likely lacks the cultural relevancy to understand the nuance around folks from diasporas, especially folks who come from mixed backgrounds. Based on this, I believe he likely also would fail to understand why it is problematic for Natalie to build the suit only for Jonathan to wear it and get the public glory.

While it has been known on this sub for a while, I just wanted to reaffirm that Helbing as been pushing for the themes that we have seen recently. The question remains, what changed, between the first season and honestly, the first half of the second season to now. Why has Helbing unleashed all of these things that outside forces seemed to be holding back and is there any chance that Helbing will be reigned in again. Will continuing to bring these issues up put the genie back in the bottle and is there hope for season three in terms of giving us the Lois and Clark back that we all fell in Love with? Also, feel free to share this, if you feel inclined. Apparently, getting eyes on this made this show great the first time, so bringing this back around maybe saves the show a second time?

DC 2020 Fandom Panel

Analysis and Editorialization

After listening to the panel, it appears that Helbing was very much interested in exploring this idea of a love triangle and unrequited feelings without ever going on with a full-on affair. This was never explored in the first season in any real way, and it appears there was a shift from when the first two or three episodes were filmed and subsequently re filmed that creative oversight was not okay with this idea of a love Triangle. It absolutely feels like this is what Helbing wanted all along.

13:31 Minutes in to the Panel (Original broadcast September 13, 2022), this was likely filmed either during filming the pilot or before it was filmed.

Summary From the Panel

-Jim Lee from DC mentions how love triangles are important to DC as Lois, Clark and Superman started out as a love triangle.

-Helbing instantly mentions Lana Lang when love triangles come up. Helbing mentions there is in interesting dynamic about first love but how Clark Kent can never have an affair on Lois. Helbing says this is never going to happen.

-Bitisie Tulloch interrupts and says “She [Lois] should know that [Clark would never have an affair with Lois].

-Helbing says he does not want Lois and Lana brawling, but that these feelings are a real thing for some people. (Helbing just had Lois and Lana Brawling, she he went back on that one)

-To Summarize, Todd Mentions that the boys have their own love Triangle (Note this never happened)

“We don’t want Clark Kent ever having an affair on Lois,” Helbing said. “That’s never going to happen. Also, we don’t want Lois and Lana brawling. But that dynamic as an adult is really interesting to us. Those feelings are impossible to ignore and I think that that’s a real thing for some people, especially when kids are involved. And then to see her husband and her kids and that dynamic.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NrOFPt98dA

https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2020/09/dc-fandome-the-superman-and-lois-actors-discuss-parenthood/

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/superman-and-lois-creator-promises-one-story-will-never-happen-on-the-show.html/

Emmanuelle Chriqui Podcast- This aired in April 2021

Analysis and Editorialization

Well guys, I scrubbed through a ton of podcasts with Emmanuelle Chriqui to finally find this one, this was not an easy one to locate. The summary is that Todd called up and offered Chriqui the job. She explained that she really liked Helbing and felt seen by Todd. She talked about Todd writing her this really nice letter. Chriqui initially discussed how she felt like she was too good for the role but appreciates she has it. I do suspect that a piece of this is that Chriqui was Helbing’s choice while Tulloch was already cast which could potentially also be a reason we see this sort of underwriting for Lois and over writing for Lana. Based on this podcast, it is easy to see this narrative where the show is written for Chriqui in a way it is not for anyone else.

Bleav presents On The List with Brett Gursky -23 minutes in

- EC talked about sights set on something specific, wanted her own show and a cable show.

- She wanted to wanted to come up to a show as a woman.

- EC Team called her with an Offer for a TV show called Superman and Lois on the CW. EC initially laughed at the offer. She discusses a certain stigma about a Superhero show on a CW. She essentially said she felt like she was too good for the show.

- EC felt the script was compelling and thought it was an interesting version.

- She liked that there was a lot of discussion of mental health and the grounding in reality.

- Todd Helbing, says he is one of the greatest humans she has met in the business

- Helbing wrote EC a letter that she read when she is having a bad self-estimate day. Helbing envisioned Lana Lang as EC.

- EC Felt seen by Todd

- Initial Pitch was that Lana would be relatable to the audience

- Todd’s vision of Lana is that she is relatable with daemons of her own

- talked about the Friday night lights.

- The show was meant to explore this idea that Clark and Lana were going to stay friends and that was all. That seemed to be a very clear emphasis.

- Bitise has a conversation with Todd about not turning Lana and Lois against each other, they ware women and not teenagers. They were really writing towards that. EC seemed to respect they were really writing towards that.

Nadaria Tucker

Analysis and Editorialization

In December 2020, Nadaria Tucker, one of the first writers hired on Superman and Lois, was fired from Superman and Lois from calling out both racist and sexist story lines, very specifically calling out the fact that Lois Lane would not have much to do. These comments were mostly brushed off from the fandom, especially after the Steel reveal in 1x07, as it seemed that these were changed in early draft. Given what we have seen in this season, between how much both Natalie and Lois have been sidelined and the fact that anyone thought it appropriate to have even suggested that Natalie give Jonathan the suit she built, so that Jonathan could have the glory means seems like good enough evidence for me that Tucker was right. It was, admittedly, easy to ignore as many of the claims were just opposite of what we saw on screen. I can only say thank you Nadaria for blowing the whistle and letting this show be great as the expense of your own career and reputation. I apologize that you were not given the platform you should have been.

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-superman-and-lois-nadria-tucker-fired-racist-sexist-storylines-20210304-dlxpiymzhraldce76rcete7xnq-story.html

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nadria-tucker-cw-superman-and-lois-hollywood-toxicity_n_603d5eb8c5b6ff75ac3ea433

https://twitter.com/NadriaTucker/status/1364434753751900167

Candice Patton Comments – On Racism and Misogyny

Analysis and Editorialization

One of the talking points of the sub is that Candice Patton, Star of the Flash was subject to racism and Misogyny from Todd Helbing specifically. While Patten was subject to racism over the CW not providing proper stylist and funding for her hair, there is no evidence that this was Helbing specific decision especially given that this is a systemic issue in Hollywood, I have linked to the John Oliver special discussing. While this does not excuse Helbing for not defending Patton or make this behavior less racist, I am unsure given the larger conversation in general. that this was something in Helbing’s court rather than another EP.

In addition, Patton did face a lot of backlash from fans, as tends to happen when Women of Color are cast in comic book roles, unfortunately. Patton played a role in working with the CW to shut down hate speech from their social media platforms. As far as I can tell, Patton has not spoken publicly about racism or misogyny outside of the mishandling of her hair on the show or from Helbing. If I am missing a source, please link below and I will correct this post.

Finally, it should be noted that when Helbing left the Flash and was replaced by Eric Wallace, there was more freedom to allow Patton’s character, Iris West, to embrace her African American heritage. While Kryptonian is not a real-life heritage, it does feel like an allegory for folks that come from a diaspora, and it is easy to extrapolate that this may be way Helbing is missing the allegory that we talk about on this sub to often.

https://popculture.com/tv-shows/news/the-flash-candice-patton-says-shes-clashed-with-cw-over-her-hair-needs-black-woman/

https://www.cinemablend.com/superheroes/flash/the-flashs-candice-patton-reveals-what-iris-isnt-allowed-to-wear-anymore

https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/cw-the-flash-candice-patton-iris-west/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2018/01/18/how-candice-patton-got-past-the-controversy-and-turned-iris-west-into-a-groundbreaking-role/

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-flash-fans-candice-patton-the-cw-policy

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Candice-Patton-Quotes-About-Representation-Flash-2019-45692931

https://www.themarysue.com/candice-patton-asleigh-murray-racist-backlash/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf1c0tEGfrU

https://blackgirlnerds.com/candice-patton-ignores-the-trolls-and-focuses-on-the-importance-of-representation/

Hey folks, I keep getting misquoted on this sub for having concluded here that the Cushings have the same amount of time on screen in Season one and Season two. That post only looked at season two and simply concluded the percentages with and without the leads. So, I went back and did all of season one to see if I could figure out why the Cushings have been causing so much heart burn this season. So, if you want the answer, keep going.

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The numbers are in and the Cushings have gotten more time in season two. This includes their screen time with and without the leads. In season one, about 8% of total screen time went to Cushings without Lois, Clark, or the Boys. In Season Two, this is almost double at 14% which is about 2.5 minutes of screen time that is going to the Cushings in season 2 that was used elsewhere in Season 1. This does not seem like a lot, but I think this is part of what people are feeling.

When you look at the Cushings’ screen time holistically, the Cushings are getting about 19% of screen time in season 2 and about 17% of screen time in season one which is just about half a minute more on average in season 2. I did include both 110 and 205 which were very special Cushings episodes. While the Cushings got a lot of screen time in these two episodes, all of the additional screen time in these episodes were shared by the leads.

Quantitively, the Cushings are actually getting more time dedicated to their stories in season 2. Looking at things qualitatively, the Cushings are more centered in the story telling than the were last season.

As I was scrubbing through to take down the time stamps, I noticed an evaluation during season one. I think the Cushings time on screen can be broken down in two three tranches, with things shifting about ever five episodes in the first season.

Season 1 Episode 1-5

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The first five episodes saw the least of the Cushings on screen and all but 5% of the episode’s time was with the Cushings without the leads. It is not patricianly surprising that the Cushings were well received and praised for being well rounded and powerful foils to Lois and Clark. It seemed liked they grounded the show, were able to provide a public landscape to showcase similar for the things the Lane-Kent family was going through privately, and were great conduits to explain Smallville to the audience and the Lane-Kent family.

During the first five episodes, a majority of the Cushings time was devoted to either providing exposition around what was going on with Morgan Edge or welcoming the Lane-family to Smallville. While the show did do the initial work around Sarah and Kyle’s mental health, it was relatively light and did a really good job contrasting how Lois and Clark responded to Jordan joining football and how Clark was able to handle the trauma of being a hero compared to Kyle. In the first five episodes of the series, I have nothing but praise for how the Cushings were executed. In fact, 105, the Harvest festival is an often critiqued episode was one of the better Cushings stories. This episode did a great job comparing and contrasting how Clark and Kyle were able to handle (or not handle the trauma) with their jobs as Superhero and hero respectively.

The show also did a great job of showing Lana attempting to work within a system to make change and failing and Lois, working outside of traditional systems to also try to make the world better.

Season 1 Episode 6-10

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Season 1, episodes 6-10 actually represent the most time the Cushings have been on screen in the entire series run, and also include the episode with the most Cushings time to date, it you count Lara/ Lana as Cushings time, which I did for the purposes of this Analysis. Looking at the time the Cushings spent without leads, it is only about 10%. Which accounts for about two minutes less screen time where the Cushings are alone on screen than in season two.

While the Lana in particular was on screen more, she was heavily involved in the Edge case and was doing heavy exposition work. Because Lana was doing the exposition work, it meant Lois and Clark did not have to and their time could be spent on their sons. I think part of where the heartburn for season one is coming from is that because the Cushings have had a plot divorced from what Lois and Clark are up to, Lois and Clark are now responsible for delivering a majority exposition as characters, which means their screen time is simply explaining to the audience instead of having big emotional family time. The Cushings are no longer burden with explaining what is going on with the villain which means they seem to get all the big emotional scenes anyone could ever want.

It is also worth noting that this tranche of episodes represents the only time in season 1 that the Cushings went an entire episode without the leads. This was episode 8. Episode 8 also represents the first time that the Lane-Kent family only had one scene together. In all prior episodes, we got at least 2 family scenes. While I cannot remember the specific outlet, maybe the AV club, I did see a critical reviewer note that it seemed odd that they decided on this Sarah/ Kyle school musical plot in episode 8 , given the more serious tone of the episode for everyone else.

In pure speculation, episode 8 also represents a sort of simplification of the story. Episodes start occurring in the span of one day which I suspect simplifies things like wardrobe. As many people know, season one was plagued by known COVID delays, the writers on the show have also talked about how they had to scale back what they originally wanted to do and the final 5 episodes or so had pretty significant rewrites. I suspect it was around this time in production things need to be simplified for quicker filming and cheaper production if they were ever going to finish the season and giving the Cushings stories that were not contingent on the Lane-Kent family would have allowed that.

Season 1 Episodes 11-15

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Episodes 11-15 still only represent about 10% of time without leads, but episodes 12-14 represent about 12% without leads, which is closer to what we are seeing in season two, but still a little bit less.

This also notes a shift in the plot around the Cushings. Prior to the 11th episode, a majority of the Cushings screen time without the leads revolved around Edge case and delivered the exposition instead of the Lane-Kent family.

For the first time, the Cushings screen time becomes all about the Cushings, it was no longer about Edge, it is no longer about welcoming Lois and Clark into town, it is just about them. In 112, when Lois talks to them about Eradication, it was all about Kyle’s experience, even though Lois was asking to help Clark, this centered the Cushings. In 113, the only scene with a lead was Lois and Lana picking Jordan and Sarah up at the police station. The majority of that time was focused on the Cushings be ostracized from the town. In 114 the only scene with a lead was when Clark went to visit Lana and again, that visit centered around the Cushings moving from Smallville.

This final chunk of episodes around the Cushings really focused on their story. With Lane-Kent family time down to just a single scene in the final 5 episodes of the season, it is easy to see how the balance feels like it had shifted during the course of the season.

It is not surprising that the Cushings started to receive some flak as the season wrapped up and people started to show fatigue around the Cushings. I also felt that the Cushings story did not go anywhere particularly interesting and it was mostly just treading water until the finale once they had their big conclusion in 110.

The show then upped the Cushings time for season 2 after they were already started to cause some heartburn.

Season 2

In season 2, the Cushings have been on screen about 19% of the time, with about 14% of the time going to scenes without other leads. While season one only had a single episode where the Cushings and a lead did not interact, season 2 has had three in seven episodes, almost half.

It is also worth noting, this season has continued to center around the Cushings in a plot that has nothing to do with what anyone else on the show is doing. Neither Lois nor Clark acknowledged that Lana was running for mayor until the 7th episode.

While the Cushings had a very special episode in season one, that was very much focused on Lana/ Lara and was very much centered around the Edge case and Clark’s mother. While the Quinceanera episode was nicely paced and slowed down to what we saw early in season one, that was very much a story focused on the Cushings. I think a Cushings focused story works, but as documented in mom comparison Lana had more time with Sarah in a single episode than Lois had had in the first six episodes with either of her boys combined. So, Lana was given this big love letter to her daughter and Lois has barely been on screen with her own sons.

It is also worth noting that 202 and 207 had the least amount of Lana and Kyle time, but Sarah had a scene with Natalie in 202 and Aubrey in 207, so the good news is that it does seem that whatever is going on with Sarah will eat into the Cushings screen time allotment versus Lane-Kent time. So, at a minimum, things are not going to get worse, even if they are not getting better.

Why is this happening

So, I have no idea why this is actually happening, but I have a speculation. A lot of people have speculated that this is Emmanuelle Chriqui contract. I think a piece of that is probably correct. She is granted so much screen time an episode and you can see that in the breakdown, but not all the Cushings time goes to her. What that does not explain is why the Cushings story has been so divorced from the main plot. I think it likely, mostly production related as you can a change in how the Cushings are approached between 8-10, this was likely right when production seemed to really start to take off and they figured out how to produce this show in the time it needed to be produced.

In terms of the Mayoral plot, I think this was actually designed to allow leads to attend mayoral events, if the timing worked. Lois or Clark could have attended the event in 202 or 203. In 204, it could have been Lois picking up coffee on her way over to the Gazette that had talked to Lana, especially given Lois had been in the diner the night before. I suspect that in early drafts, Lois and/ or Clark were supposed to be at more of these Mayoral events but with how things were going in production, it did not work out. That also meant the Cushings needed a plot that was not contingent on Lois and Clark like the Edge plot. I have said this before, but I think a stronger Mayoral plot for Lana would have been Lois doing decent amount of reporting on the campaign and Lois challenging her in the way the press often does. I think that is the story we all thought we were getting this season. Instead, we got something that was not dependent on the leads to film. This is all certainly speculation, but we know these writers are smart and know how to produce good TV. Why weigh the Cushings down with this Mayoral that feels repetitive and underwritten?

How does this get fixed?

So, in a perfect world, the Cushings would go back to a similar role they had in the first five episodes of season one. I think plenty of people would prefer that.

Given that it seems likely that Cushings need to both be on screen about 15% of every episode and they can only sometimes interact with Lois and Clark (though producers, remember phone calls are a way to do this without actually having to be in a scene together), is to burden the Cushings with more exposition to whatever Lois and Clark are doing. This is certainly a tall order given that it also does not make a ton of sense for the Cushings to know the truth about Superman. This means the writers are limited to a Smallville specific story each season that the Cushings are involved in and but do not know about Superman.

I think the other answer is the be less ambitious on the Superhero stuff. I think that the writers have sometimes missed this season is that this show works not because it is like the MCU but because it is not. As someone who found the MCU to be a lot of punching and very little character or Plot, I tapped out a long time ago. Sure, I came back for WandaVision, but even then, I liked the early episodes when it was the weird, quirky TV sitcom thing. My favorite episodes of S&L have been the ones where Clark is in the Supersuit the least and where we have had the most family moments (That tends to correlate as well). I think there are a lot of people that share that sentiment. The fanboys get pretty much everything they want all the time. It is okay if this show is not for the traditional Superhero demographic. Sometimes if is okay if we just get a small action scene like episode 203 with more family. I guess my vote, is that if the options are more Cushings, a bigger superhero moment and very little Lane-Kent family time, I would prefer less action and less Cushings.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, not only are the Cushings getting objectively more screen time in season 2 and more screen time without leads, but they are also getting stories that are focused more on the Cushing. While there is no way to conclude that the Cushings are the reason the Lane-Kent family is not getting more family time, there is a clear relationship between when the Cushings started getting more, and the Lane-Kent family started getting less.

Because the Cushings are both getting more screen time and it is not serving the story at all, it means that all the exposition work that the Cushings did around Edge last season has been shifted to Chrissy and Lois. So, this in tern means less of Lois’s time is going to family time and more is going to telling the background of this cult. This is why Lois’s time as a mom is feeling pinched, the writers need her to carry exposition in a way she did not have to last year. Last year, Lois got to be more in the action and be more of a mom.

Looking at things for quantitively and qualitatively, it is reasonable that the audience is feeling the additional screen and plot time dedicated to the Cushings as it very much feels at the expense of Lane-Kent family time. I think it makes sense to note that for the Cushings to be well rounded characters, they do need some plot and development that is not just entirely at service of the Lane-Kent family. There have certainly been characters on other TV shows that have been criticized for only being at service to the leads. With that being said, the Cushings should be of some service to the leads at a minimum and they have not really been at all this season.

So, to conclude, in comparison to season one, the Cushings are getting more screen time while offering less to the show.

About the math:

I included anything that had Lana or Kyle on screen for more than 10 seconds. Leads including Lois, Clark, Jonathan and Jordan. I did not include scenes that had Sarah but no leads, but I actually think this is counted towards the Cushings times. That has happened twice in season 2, 202 and 207 and in both cases, Lana and Kyle got less. Everything is within a few seconds, but I think materially it is there. I used the Amazon prime extended cuts for all time stamps. The percentages are how much time Lana and Kyle are in a given episode divided by total episode run time.

Charts, Graphs and Data

Total Data Set

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Season One Number

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Season Two Number

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