HBO's Lanterns Returns As Streaming Hit After New Release & Now's The Perfect Time To Binge It

Published Nov 6, 2026, 9:31 AM EST

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Lanterns has come back through a new release that is already proving itself quite popular, and for those who have yet to check out the latest DC Universe series, now is the perfect time for a binge. Lanterns continue the DCU's process of revitalizing the Green Lantern brand in live-action. After all, 2011's Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds was not ideal.

After years of being cast to the side of the road, Nathan Fillion brought back Green Lantern in 2025's Superman, playing the Guy Gardner version of the character, and Lanterns' cast of DC players not only brought him back, but also marked the DCU debuts of Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre's John Stewart. The whole show hinged on their dynamic and chemistry.

Thankfully, Chandler's veteran DC hero and Pierre's confident new recruit had chemistry in spades, with one of the most exciting dynamics in James Gunn's DCU thus far. Those characters, along with a story that was filled with intrigue, plot twists, and different timelines, all in the vein of one of HBO's best TV shows, True Detective, led to Lanterns breaking many viewership records.

Now, DC fans wait for confirmation that Lanterns season 2 is happening, with a writers' room currently figuring out if there is a solid idea for how the sci-fi detective series could continue with another season. Before any new episodes arrive on HBO and HBO Max, Lanterns has just come back through another type of release, and this new format is already proving successful for the show, attracting new viewers.

HBO's Lanterns Is Available To Watch On Digital & Has Already Become A Major Hit

Lanterns became available on VOD at the usual digital storefronts like the Prime Video Store, the Apple TV Store, and more on Tuesday, November 3. Taking the show's Prime Video Store listing, all eight episodes of Lanterns season 1 can be bought for $21.99, and for those who might want to check out the pilot before making a decision on the entire series, episode 1 can be bought for $3.99. It has not taken long after Lanterns' arrival on digital for the HBO series to become a major hit once again. After all, Lanterns is trending outside of HBO nationwide.

At the time of writing, Lanterns stands as the 4th most popular series on the Apple TV Store's Top 20 TV Shows chart in the United States, according to data from FlixPatrol. This already marks a rise for the HBO series after Lanterns debuted at 5th on the chart a couple of days after it became available on digital, on November 5. Lanterns season 1 only loses on the chart to Homeland, Shameless, and From, all popular shows with multiple seasons. After its digital release, Lanterns will also be coming home on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 9, 2027, as confirmed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Now Is The Perfect Time To Binge Lanterns If You Don't Have HBO

For those who do not have HBO, Lanterns' digital release marks the perfect time to binge the show. You can just get Lanterns season 1 directly for $21.99 and keep it forever, which is something that DC fans who already watched it on HBO and HBO Max might also want to consider given the ever-changing nature of ownership in the streaming age. Lanterns is a must-binge series that is filled with mysteries that are all wrapped up by the season finale, making a binge a rewarding experience. A binge also takes out any frustration from cliffhangers that happen throughout season 1.

Right now, Lanterns stands at a near-perfect 92% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 168 reviews. In ScreenRant's Lanterns season 1 review, I gave the show a 9 out of 10 score, praising the DC series for casting "The Perfect Hal Jordan & John Stewart." There is plenty to enjoy in Lanterns, with an exciting detective storyline, layered characters, impressive use of Green Lantern powers and more, making a binge on digital, where the show is already trending, a good call.

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  Kyle Chandler

  Hal Jordan

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  Aaron Pierre

  John Stewart