Fresh off its hit series premiere, 'Superman & Lois' scores early Season 2 renewal at The CW

It's a bird! It's a plane! No...it's a second season renewal for The CW's brand-new DC series, Superman & Lois! The show, which aired its episode pilot last week, will return in the 2021-2022 season along 12 other renewed programs. Spun out of Supergirl, the project finds Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) returning to Smallville, Kansas to raise their teenage sons: Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin). What the boys don't know is that their dad is the world's greatest superhero.

"The phenomenal multi-platform debut of Superman & Lois, which delivered for us in a big way on both a linear and streaming basis, is a testament to the creativity, hard work and dedication of the talented people who worked tirelessly in front of and behind the camera, especially in this challenging environment,” CW head honcho Mark Pedowitz said in a statement. "We are thrilled to now have two brand-new bonafide hits in Superman & Lois and Walker, both of which have been renewed for next season along with 11 other of our shows, further positioning us for continued strength and stability for next season."

Last week's 90-minute premiere delivered the network's best night of primetime since January 2019. It also netted the largest day-one streaming audience for any new CW title in history. "The audience for Superman & Lois soared higher as delayed viewing was factored in, gaining an additional million viewers (1.7million viewers to 2.7million viewers) on a Live+3 basis, while nearly doubling the live-plus same-day viewership among adults 18-34, growing 93% on an L+3 basis," continues the release.

Appearing at DC FanDome in 2020, showrunner/executive producer Todd Helbing related the series to his own life, which also happens to include raising a pair of sons. 

"That felt like a really great way to bring in some personal experience to tell a story that is as grounded as you can possibly be to have Superman in it," he explained. "And as a couple, we really get to lean into Clark and Lois not being Superman and the most famous journalist in the world, but really as parents. What is that like when you have jobs like that? Which a lot of people can relate to nowadays."

Erik Valdez ("Kyle Cushing"), Inde Navarrette ("Sarah Cushing"), Wolé Parks ("The Stranger"), Adam Rayner ("Morgan Edge"), Dylan Walsh ("General Samuel Lane"), and Emmanuelle Chriqui ("Lana Lang Cushing") co-star. Greg Berlanti, who developed the show alongide Helbing serves as an executive producer with Sarah Schechter and Geoff Johns. Lee Toland Krieger (Shadow & Bone) directed and executive produced the Helbing-written pilot, based on a story from the showrunner and Berlanti.

Episode 2 of Superman & Lois ("Heritage") airs on The CW tonight at 9 p.m. EST. The Flash also returns for its new season tonight.