Why 'Superman & Lois' won't just be a rehash of 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'
'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' was a special show and we're unlikely to see anything like it ever again. It was a warm, cozy, light-hearted approach to Clark Kent (Dean Cain), his job at the Daily Planet, and his will-they, won't-they romance with Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher).
It was just this shy of being a sci-fi sitcom. The adventures of Superman take second place in the development of Clark Kent as a character.
We've seen a great many portrayals of Superman over the years, but with super-heroics taking a backseat, Dean Cain's performance might be the most human look at Superman we've seen... yet.
The recently announced 'Superman & Lois' show, starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as the titular characters, sets itself apart from 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' immediately.
It's all in the title. It's SUPERMAN and Lois — while Clark's civilian life is going to be explored, super-heroics are not going to be taking a backseat.
It makes sense — even The CW's most family-centric superhero show so far, 'Black Lightning', has no shortage of costumes and superpowered action scenes. And there's no reason for 'Superman & Lois' to be any different.
A certain level of camp from 'Lois & Clark' is going to be lost, in all likelihood. The CW's shows aren't afraid to lean into ridiculousness, but they do it with all the air of a show that's meant to be taking itself seriously (with the obvious exception of 'Legends of Tomorrow').
What's more, Tyler Hoechlin's portrayal of Superman comes across as someone to be taken seriously. 'Superman & Lois' will have humor — but not camp.
What will truly set 'Superman & Lois' apart is that we are going to see what life is like for the titular characters as a married couple.
The will-they, won't-they tension between Lois and Clark was a hallmark of the older show, and they did not get married until the show's final season (which prompted the marriage of their comic book counterparts, but that's another story).
With The CW show, we are finally going to get to see that relationship explored, with no secrets between the two, and that is something Superman fans have been waiting a long time to see.
We also get to see Clark and Lois as parents. We miss our chance to see that in 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' — although Season 4 ended with the cliffhanger of a baby left on the couple's doorstep.
The show's fifth season was canceled and the cliffhanger was never resolved. It's not known how old the child on 'Superman & Lois' will be, or even if the child will be a boy, as is the case in the comics, but that Superman and Lois will be parents is confirmed.
Their parental skills are something that is relatively unexplored, even in the comics. Superman is still going to be the iconic champion of truth and jusice.
Lois is still going to be the world's most intrepid reporter, and both of them will join a colorful cast of characters at the Daily Planet.
But there's enough difference between the older and newer show to ensure that 'Superman & Lois' isn't just going to be more of the same... although that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
