Lanterns Viewing Numbers Take Flight: Ep. 3 Averages 10M First 3 Days

Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: lanterns

Lanterns Viewing Numbers Take Flight: S01E03 Averages 10M First 3 Days

Despite what social media would have you believe, a whole lot of folks are watching HBO's Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler-starring Lanterns.

Published Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:53:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• Lanterns Episode 3 averaged 10 million viewers in three days worldwide, with 7 million in the U.S. for HBO Max.
• Lanterns' premiere has now topped 20 million viewers globally, ranking among HBO Max's top five series debuts.
• Episode 4, "The Weenie," gets a new preview as Lanterns digs deeper into John Stewart's origin and family history.
• Lanterns Episode 3 reveals Sinestro killed a Guardian, mentored Hal Jordan, and may have deadly plans for John.

Despite the alternate reality that the haters on social media are trying to create, a whole lot of folks are watching Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King's Aaron Pierre (John Stewart) and Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan)-starring Lanterns. Just how many? HBO Max released viewing numbers for S01E03: "OutKast," which averaged 10 million viewers globally (7 million in the U.S.) three days after its August 30th debut. As for the show's August 16th premiere episode, that's now crossed 20 million viewers worldwide. As was originally reported when the premiere's number hit, Lanterns is now in HBO Max's top five series premieres (and the biggest premiere for a DC Studios show on the streaming service).

Lanterns Season 1 Episode 4: "The Weenie" Preview

Lanterns Season 1 Episode 4: "The Weenie" – Written by Justin Britt-Gibson and Damon Lindelof, here's a look at the image gallery and episode trailer that were released:

We had a pretty good idea heading into the third episode of Lanterns that we would be learning a whole lot about John Stewart's origin story. And we definitely did, with J. Alphonse Nicholson (John Stewart Sr.) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (Bernadette Stewart) offering amazing performances as parents making the hard decisions to do right by their son. In terms of the Green Lantern universe and the overall DCU, there were definitely some interesting pieces of intel that we want to pass along.

During his interview to be the next Green Lantern, John asks why the Guardians are recruiting and not allowing the rings to select. Linney's Guardian responds that the selection process was changed after Sinestro turned, killing a Guardian (who are blue and pretty tall, by the way – at least Linney's Guardian).

We learn that John's father was offered the ring but was denied when he said he was afraid. Linney's Guardian returns to speak with Bernadette and apologizes for the "extreme turmoil" caused by the ring invites (which were also offered to others). It's during their conversation that the idea of raising John to be fearless comes into play, essentially training him with the hope that the Guardians approve.

Linney's Guardian also addressed that Sinestro was Hal Jordan's mentor, and that they found their connection/bond "troubling."

As if being raised to believe that Jordan didn't earn the ring and that his fearlessness came from his privilege, we learned that John had another reason to resent Jordan. It seems John spent nine months on a special operation, only for Jordan to swoop in, apprehend the guy that John was sent to kill, and leave a political/counterintelligence mess in his wake. As the fallout from Jordan's actions grew, John was made the scapegoat and dishonorably discharged.

Meanwhile, the trailer for the next episode is dropping a ten-ton hint that Hal and Sinestro have something planned that may not bode well for John (of course, it could also be some interesting editing on the show's part to throw us off the scent). Let the Yellow Lanterns speculation start in 5… 4… 3…:

Sinestro: "Is he fearless?"
Hal Jordan: "He may be."
Sinestro: "Well, then he can be controlled. Then he will be arrogant. Thus, blindly oblivious to your true intent."
Sinestro: "You really will need to kill John Stewart."

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