A lot of people are looking ahead to James Gunn’s Superman, the first theatrical DC Universe entry on the upcoming DC movies schedule, and I’m one of them. Yet at the same time, I’m also still thinking about Superman & Lois coming to an end after four seasons in December. It didn’t take long for this to become my favorite live-action adaptation of the Superman mythology. So after hearing what Lois Lane actress Elizabeth Tulloch had to say about what a “tenuous situation” it was making the final season happen, it makes me wish Superman & Lois had come along sooner.
Tulloch discussed her time on Superman & Lois, which officially closed out The CW’s Arrowverse franchise, while she was a guest on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Unlike fellow Arrowverse shows Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman, this series was given the time to properly wrap up its story rather than end on a cliffhanger, but there was never any guarantee that was going to happen. As Tulloch recalled:
… There was a period where our survival was a bit of a tenuous situation because for a couple different reasons. Warner Bros. had had a new head, DC Comics had new heads, the biggest thing is that The CW was sold to NexStar. And so it wasn’t a given that we were going to get a Season 4. And we had ended on this cliffhanger where Superman and Doomsday are flying at each other. For me, it was honestly… there’s no way we can do that to the fans. That’s just wrong. So a part of it was, ‘Hell no, come on.’
She’s right that the NexStar acquisition especially hit hard, as it came with a wave of cancellations. Ultimately, Superman & Lois, All American, All American: Homecoming and Walker were the only shows from the old CW era that survived. For Superman & Lois, Season 4 came with just a 10-episode order and a significantly reduced budget, which in turn trimmed down the main cast and number of action scenes. But like Tulloch said, it would have been a disservice to cancel Superman & Lois and not resolve the fight with Doomsday, so these concessions were an acceptable tradeoff.
Elizabeth Tulloch was certainly impressed with how Superman & Lois’ final season ended, especially considering how the series was supposed to last much longer. As she told Michael Rosenbaum:
Our cast and crew, and the writers, really pulled it together, and man, they stuck the landing. I have a tremendous admiration for the way they closed out the series. Nobody thought we were going to end this early. That was sort of shocking. When Greg Berlanti was first pitching the show to me and Tyler, everybody was thinking it was going to go at least seven or eight seasons. Shit happens.
Tyler Hoechlin debuted as Superman in Supergirl Season 2, and Elizabeth Tulloch first appeared as Lois Lane during the Arrowverse’s “Elseworlds” crossover. These versions of Clark and Lois ended up being different than the ones on Superman & Lois, with the Season 2 finale revealing that the show was set on another Earth. Regardless, if only the show had come along a few years earlier, because then it would have been able to hit that goal Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin had been told about.
Again though, it’s important to be thankful that Superman & Lois was able to effectively conclude with an emotional ride (and could have been an even bigger tearjerker). You can revisit this superhero saga with your Max subscription, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be imaging how addition seasons of this show might have looked.
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