Superman and Lois a super-complicated family drama

SUPERMAN AND LOIS

★★★½

Binge

A scene from Superman and Lois. Credit:

One of the reasons Greg Berlanti and his team do such a consistently good job with these reimaginings is their affection for the original material – an affection borne of a deep understanding. With the odd misstep, they generally know to a nicety what to preserve, what to reference, and where they can get away with playing fast and loose. Superman, for instance, has always been a particularly wholesome figure, a quality Alfred Gough and Miles Millar mined first in Smallville, and Berlanti now picks up in Superman and Lois which is, more than anything, a multigenerational family drama. Sure, a family drama enlivened and complicated by the fact that at least one family member has superpowers. (Or simply “powers”, as they’re more modestly called these days.) But the focus is nevertheless on interpersonal dynamics more than saving the world. Smallville was always in its essence a coming of age story, and this series provides a clever and entertaining way of looking at digital disruption, work/life balance, a divided America and – again, 20 years on – that difficult transition from innocence to adulthood. There are also plenty of super bits, of course, both within the family and in the broader plotting which sees Superman Snr come face to face with an old nemesis – all while trying to raise two teenage boys.