Story perspectives

Lanterns’ first episode kills Hal Jordan, launches 10-year jump

8/17/2026

Summary

Hal Jordan Killed

HBO’s “Lanterns” premiered on Sunday, killing Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) in its first episode.
The story jumps from 2016 to 2026, showing Jordan’s corpse on a Nebraska bleacher and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) ringless.
Co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King describe the plot as “three-dimensional chess.”
Lindelof notes the series seeks real emotional stakes while Chandler calls his Hal “grouchy,” “self-centered,” and praises the bold cliffhanger.

Summary

Disney Princess Concert

Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC and streams on Disney+, staged at Disneyland’s California Adventure Park.
The concert features performers Auli’i Cravalho and Halle Bailey and is followed at 8:30 p.m. / 7:30 c. by the 2001 film The Princess Diaries.
HBO’s Lanterns premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO/HBO Max, showing networks’ tactic of pairing a large-scale Disney event with a genre-driven superhero drama.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 NBC introduced the Thursday “Must See TV” block, centering Friends and Seinfeld, a move that followed the debut of two new networks—UPN and The WB—in January 1995 and the first fully stereo primetime season. The 2024 Disney Princess Concert on ABC, paired with HBO’s Lanterns, shows how families and superhero dramas now rely on marquee events to drive ratings across networks.

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Hal Jordan Killed

HBO’s “Lanterns” premiered on Sunday, killing Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) in its first episode.
The story jumps from 2016 to 2026, showing Jordan’s corpse on a Nebraska bleacher and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) ringless.
Co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King describe the plot as “three-dimensional chess.”
Lindelof notes the series seeks real emotional stakes while Chandler calls his Hal “grouchy,” “self-centered,” and praises the bold cliffhanger.

1 / 3