Damon Lindelof is worth following for the people he puts inside his elaborate mysteries. We are less persuaded when another complication takes time away from them, a habit that makes Lanterns a qualified recommendation.
Fi1m perspective
Two Green Lanterns sit in a car, with rather different feelings about the job. In Lanterns (2026), Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, has grown tired of his ring; Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart is unsure he wants his. There is a death to investigate in a small town, with a possible explanation that comes from beyond Earth. For long stretches, this gives Lindelof and fellow writers Chris Mundy and Tom King a patient police drama worth watching.
Lost (2004–2010), which he co-created with J.J. Abrams and ran with Carlton Cuse, established his taste for ensemble mysteries. Faith, reason and the search for meaning recur across his work, often in stories told out of order. The attractions are clear: different people can live with the same uncertainty in quite different ways. The danger is that their troubles get crowded out by questions about the plot.
A stretch of film screenwriting included Prometheus (2012), before The Leftovers (2014–2017), co-created with Tom Perrotta, developed his interest in characters living with uncertainty. That is a useful direction for a writer willing to leave questions unanswered. Watchmen (2019) took an existing comic and knew what it wanted to say with it. We do not need every mystery explained, but we do need that sense that the writer knows why it matters.
Lanterns has some of that seriousness, but cannot settle on what deserves our attention. Chandler and Pierre make the relationship between an experienced man and his reluctant junior worth the time the programme gives it. We grew frustrated whenever it cut away from them, because their shared scenes were the reason we wanted to keep watching. Across eight episodes, the investigation keeps pulling attention from a relationship that could have sustained a simpler story.
With Mundy and King also writing Lanterns, it would be careless to assign every detour to Lindelof. His willingness to leave questions open is no excuse for spending so long deciding which story to tell. Start with Watchmen; approach Lanterns for Chandler and Pierre, and expect interruptions.
Biography
Damon Lindelof is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He was born on 24 April 1973 in New Jersey.
Lindelof co-created and wrote for the series Lost (2004–2010). He later created The Leftovers (2014–2017) and Watchmen (2019). His film credits include co-writing Prometheus (2012). He co-created the series Lanterns (2026).
He has received three Primetime Emmy Awards.
