Damon Lindelof confirms writers’ room; 'Lanterns' season 2 is underway
No HBO renewal yet, but Damon Lindelof has confirmed Lanterns is already moving on Season 2.
At the Los Angeles premiere for Lanterns, co-creator Damon Lindelof said the team is already mapping out a second season—even as the first one just launched. He stressed that Season 1 was built to play like a full case file with an ending, not a string of cliffhangers, and then dropped the update that a new writers’ room is already at work.
“We came into this with the sort of attitude that this was a mystery with a beginning, middle, and end…If it ’s successful and people love it, there’s a lot of runway to launch into future seasons. But I think Chris Mundy has already started a new writers’ room, figuring out what new stories could be for ‘Lanterns.’”
Lindelof made the comments to Screen Rant on the carpet. HBO hasn’t officially renewed Lanterns for Season 2, but behind the scenes there are notable moves: Chris Mundy has kicked off that writers’ room, and Christopher Cantwell has come aboard as co-showrunner. Lindelof isn’t expected to return in the same capacity, and Tom King is stepping away to focus on DC Studios’ animated Mister Miracle.
A grounded Green Lantern case
The eight-episode season pairs Aaron Pierre as rookie John Stewart with Kyle Chandler as a world-weary Hal Jordan, then plants them in an Earth-bound murder investigation with cosmic aftershocks. The opening hours dig into a strange case in Nebraska, unfolding across dual timelines with the textured, procedural feel of a crime drama while keeping one foot in DC lore.
Episode 1 brings the Lanterns into the orbit of Sheriff Kerry, played by Kelly Macdonald, as the show peels back small-town relationships and secrets.
- Kelly Macdonald — Sheriff Kerry
- Garret Dillahunt
- Poorna Jagannathan
- Jason Ritter
- Laura Linney
- Ulrich Thomsen
- Nathan Fillion
Lanterns premiered August 16 on HBO and Max. Season 1 runs eight episodes.