As superhero dramas go this one is top-notch, Todd Helbing (The Flash, Black Sails, The Mob Doctor) and Greg Berlanti have outdone themselves. They’ve updated and elevated the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Superman show, which prominently featured Lois Lane and Clark Kent/ Superman as leads but they’ve seamlessly added their teenage children in the mix. Casting Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf) and Elizabeth Tulloch (Grimm, Concussion) as the world’s most famous superhero and comic books’ most famous journalist was inspired because I wouldn’t have put these two together. Jordan Elsass and Alex Garfin as their twin sons. The series also stars Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck), Adam Rayner (Tyrant), Emmanuelle Chriqui (The Passage), Erik Valdez (Graceland), Inde Navarette (13 Reasons Why), Sofia Hasmik (All the Bright Places), and Wolé Parks (Yellow Stone, The Vampire Diaries).

Premise: The series follows Lois and Clark as they return to Smallville with their sons Jonathan and Jordan, and face the stress, pressures, and complexities that come with being working parents with a superhero-sized secret to carry.

Review: This show is impressive, the pilot was great and they maintain if not built on that greatness. I very much feel like it’s the Snyderverse 10+ years in the future. It has a similar focus on the dramatic side of things with a very human approach. The show has this knack for taking these extraordinary circumstances but grounding them to the max. The focus is on the family and not really on Superman’s impressive feats, which means that when they come, they’re a little more impressive, and often the VFX is awesome. The action scenes feel earned because we are not inundated with them.

Lois and the kids are a nice added bonus to the show and not glorified extras. Jonathan really is like his father, he’s a bit of a boy scout, mindful of others, loving, and supportive. It would have been easy to make him the jealous resentful kid and I’m glad they didn’t.

It’s really the little things that I like about the show and they amount to a greater whole that makes this show worth it. Superman is still the boy scout that he’s supposed to be but he’s also depicted as more human here than ever. I love that thing about him listening in on his family, they didn’t make it creepy just a concerned parent checking in. The idea that he used to do the same thing to Lois when they were dating reminds me of what Cilas Stone says to Cyborg about his abilities in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, that the challenge would be not doing it despite the fact that he can because of abilities.

So going with the more human route with Superman was the right play, they’ve also made his boy scout attitude a struggle, a decision that he makes every day, every single time. It humanizes him and makes him fallible, thus giving us a less boring Superman.

The rest of the cast is solid, if at times archetypes. I loved Wolé Parks being a Luthor even if it was one from another universe, they didn’t need to reckon that but I understand. I wouldn’t want Luthor to become an entire hero even one from another universe.

This show does take a few weird turns but it’s the best superhero show the CW has produced yet.