The second season of Superman & Lois premieres TONIGHT (January 11) at 8PM ET/PT on The CW (note an hour earlier than last season), and to continue with the hype, KryptonSite was able to speak with Executive Producer and Showrunner Todd Helbing for some ideas on what it is we can expect. We also threw in some burning questions we had over here. Of course, there are a few things that have to wait until a few surprises are revealed in tonight’s season opener, so come back after it’s aired and we’ll have a little bit more to share.
Even with that said… do be aware there may be some spoilers within. Enjoy! Photos from the season premiere “What Lies Beneath” can be found here.
KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: What is something that you wanted to be sure to bring the audience for Season 2 of Superman & Lois?
TODD HELBING: A little movie every week. No. We wanted to bring them a better understanding of all the families in our show all three families.
Since Natalie Irons isn’t necessarily the Natasha Irons that we know from the comics, does that mean that she might not necessarily have the same character traits or love interests that Natasha has in the comics?
We obviously are all huge comic book fans, and we use them quite often for inspiration, but ultimately, we just want to tell the best character story. So, sometimes we use little personality traits or storylines, but for the most part, we stay true to who the character is in our show.
Does Natalie know that her mother is married to Superman in this world?
She knows that. Yes.
Does this cause some conflict with her dad?
Oh, yeah. Yes, it does.
Can you talk about Lt. Anderson and what he brings to the show?
Last season when Lane made that choice to retire, we knew that whoever was going to replace him had (A) huge shoes to fill but (B) was at quite a disadvantage, because Lane obviously knew Superman’s secret, he was married to his daughter, he was the father to his grandchildren. That inherently creates some leeway that Superman enjoys, and there’s a lot of questions that are never asked of him, because Lane knows what the answer is. But you get somebody new in there, and I think two things happen: This new guy, Anderson, is quickly becoming frustrated at the perceived slights that Superman is giving towards him, and Superman is simultaneously getting a new appreciation for Sam Lane.
Can you talk about the Kyle and Sarah interactions in the series season premiere and how the Cushing family dynamic is changing?
The Cushings have a really juicy storyline this year. For Kyle and Sarah… look, I don’t think Kyle is ever been a huge fan of his daughter dating Jordan. Any dad with a daughter is pretty protective, and probably nobody’s going to be good enough. It’s probably less Jordan’s fault than it is that just nobody’s good enough. But, you know, Kyle has come a long way from the beginning of last season. I think he’s really doubling down on being a good dad. He wants to be a good dad and a good husband. He was kind of lost for a few years, and he’s found his way back, and we’re gonna see if that sticks or not this season.
Can you talk about Lana’s new job?
Lana is kind of the brains behind operations for the new mayoral candidate. Even though it’s a small town, George Dean showed us his true colors, and I think his sort of sliminess is going to make politics in Smallville more interesting than you would imagine. And Lana is dead center in the middle of it.
This is probably just a yes or no question, but will the villain of Superman & Lois Season 2 be somebody that Superman fans will recognize?
Yes.
Season 1 had a number of milestone episodes that changed the narrative throughout the season and really just turned things on their ears. Can we should we expect something similar from Season 2?
Yes, definitely. We have a couple of those.
Can you talk about Jordan and Jonathan’s respective lead love interests in the season premiere, and how there’s trouble coming from all sides, it seems?
On the Jordan side, you know, he’s like a lot of teenagers… first girlfriend, or boyfriend, fall in love with them pretty quickly and you think you’re gonna marry that person… and then as the relationship and time goes on, things get a little bit more complicated. I think Jordan is going to be dealing with some issues with Sarah that he didn’t think he necessarily was going to run into in the first couple months of being with her.
On the Jonathan side, he has a new girlfriend, Candice, and Candice is is going to have an influence over Jonathan that we have not seen before, and it causes a lot of contention between Jonathan and his parents.
Is Teagan gone for good?
Well, I don’t know she’s gone for good. But you know, when you’re a teenager… I think my first girlfriend lasted for six weeks, and right around week three, I would have told you I was in love with her and I was going to marry her, and then three weeks later, she dumped me for somebody else. That’s kind of what happens in high school. They’re sophomores, over the summer… three months is a long time.
They broke up. He met Candice. And Bob’s your uncle.
What can you say about Lucy Lane showing up?
This year we really wanted to dive into the Lane family dynamics… explaining why Lane’s relationship with Lois is the way it is, and why Lois is who she is, and then out of that, explain who her sister is, and why she’s so different from Lois. And then with three of them, why their dynamic is the way that it is. It’s a really important part of the season, and we’re really excited about it from a writing standpoint.
You have a number of genre actors directing episodes of the series soon, including Amy Jo Johnson and Elizabeth Henstridge. Can you talk about having them around?
Generally speaking it’s not a prerequisite that somebody is a genre director or actor, but there is something nice about having people that are a part of that world. because there’s a shorthand that you can develop with them pretty quickly. With Elizabeth and Amy Jo, it just makes things great. I don’t know how to explain it.
It’s like when David Ramsey comes over, and he is so intimately knowledgeable about the Arrowverse that it’s a two second conversation sometimes. It’s just an added element that we all love, and I think for the fans, it’s fun for them too.
Tom Welling recently was on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast, and he finally has an openness to putting on the cape in a multiverse story. Is there any chance we could see Tom or any other former Superman on the series at some point?
I mean, there’s always a chance. I didn’t know that he said that. That’s cool.
I’m obviously a huge fan of Tom. I never met him when I wrote that one episode of Smallville with my brother. I don’t know. It’s certainly a possibility. There are no plans right now, but yeah. Tom Welling is awesome.
As far as plans, are there any plans for us to see Tal-Rho again anytime soon?
Oh, yeah. We love Adam Rayner, and we just really dig the dynamic between Superman and his brother. So yes, you’ll see him a few times this season.
Do you have any final words you’d like to say to the fans will be reading this?
Just “thank you for all support and the response to the show last season.” It brought us a lot of joy in a very difficult time to be making this show. The cast, crew, writers…. we’re all very grateful.
Are you hyped? See a gallery of season premiere photos here, and if those aren’t enough, a trailer for the season premiere can be found below. Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.