Posted in: CW, TV | Tagged: james gunn, superman & lois

Superman & Lois Team Gets Some Social Media Love From James Gunn

James Gunn spotlighted Elizabeth Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin-starring Superman & Lois in a post a day after the premiere of its final season.

As much as we're looking forward to what writer, director, and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has in store with David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan-starring Superman, it already has a high bar to clear – one that's been set by Elizabeth Tulloch, Tyler Hoechlin, Michael Bishop, Alex Garfin & Michael Cudlitz-starring Superman & Lois. With the fourth and final season underway, there's been some renewed buzz about why the show is leaving our screens, who made the call, and why. Earlier today, Gunn took to social media to post an image of a get-together that the show's team had the night before the series returned – hitting it with a hashtag to let them know that they're seen. Check out the overview for the season's third episode, followed by a look at what Gunn had to share:

"Superman & Lois" Season 4 Episode 3: "Always My Hero" -THE EPISODE WAS DIRECTED BY DAVID GIUNTOLI ("A MILLION THINGS," "GRIMM") – Reeling from failure, Jordan (Alex Garfin) begins to spiral, while Jonathan (Michael Bishop) discovers newfound strength. General Lane (Dylan Walsh) recruits John Henry (Wole Parks) and Natalie Irons (Tayler Buck) to the DOD before making a choice that will change everything. David Giuntoli ("Grimm") directed the episode written by Brent Fletcher and Todd Helbing. Now, here's a look at a screencap of Gunn's Instagram Stories post from earlier today:

Superman & Lois: Elizabeth Tulloch on CW Cuts, Gunn/Superman Rumor

Earlier this year, Brad Schwartz, CW's President of Entertainment (and someone who still seems to have "'Arrowverse'-on-the-Brain"), discussed the series and its final season during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Event. Along with confirming that the series would return in the fall and not the summer, Schwartz also made some news during the event when he noted that the series was going to end with its fourth season no matter how well it did. Why? "They don't want a competing Superman product in the marketplace," Schwartz explained, referencing Superman (still "Superman: Legacy" at that point). During a rollout of their short-term & long-term plans for their new DCU in January 2023, Gunn & Co-CEO Peter Safran said that they expected the series to run for "one or two more seasons" – with Gunn adding, "It's a show everybody likes, so it's going to keep going for a little bit."

That brought us to a recent episode of Katee Sackhoff's (Battlestar Galactica) The Sackhoff Show podcast, with Tulloch checking in to discuss a whole range of personal and professional topics – including Superman & Lois coming to an end, the challenges that the team faced heading into the final season, and the reports that Gunn and Safran had a say in the series coming to an end with four seasons instead of an expected seven. "We went into this thinking we were gonna go seven seasons. That's what we were told, so it was shocking that everything happened. It was almost like a triple whammy, to be honest. People keep putting the blame on Gunn and Safran, but the reality is The CW was sold to Nexstar, Warner Bros. had had a new head in David Zaslav, and then also DC Comics had new heads," Tulloch shared, noting the factors that came into play beyond Gunn and Safran.

When the news hit that the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, it didn't take long for the deal's fine print to become painfully obvious. The series would have to deal with a reduced episode count (10 episodes), cuts to the production's budget and writers' room, and series regulars Dylan Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette, Wolé Parks, Tayler Buck & Sofia Hasmik being cut from the show (though most will be appearing in some capacity) – much like we're seeing now with the seventh season of All-American. Once again, it would be the show's team that would step up go above and beyond what they were given to produce a final season that does right by the fans and journey.

"All we could do was go into it and give it our best, and it was tough because [in] Season 4, we had major budget cuts. We went from 13 series regulars to five, so a lot of the cast who'd been doing either all episodes produced or maybe 10 out of 13, all of a sudden were doing two or three," Tulloch shared, noting that the team stepped up to work its magic to create a season that vibed with the previous three seasons – especially tough when facing reducing production days per episode. "Kudos to the writers for making it feel like at least some of those cast [members] were in every episode, so it didn't feel like a different show at all. It still feels like the same show."

As for whether or not those reports about Gunn and Safran wanting the series to end before Superman premiered are true, Tulloch has moved beyond that, choosing to focus instead on what the team brought to the Superman mythos while also reaffirming her belief that The Man of Steel's future is in good hands with Gunn at the helm of DC Studios' first feature film. "It felt like there was a lot of vitriol aimed at James Gunn and Peter Safran, and at the end of the day, it's like, if you're a Superman fan, be stoked about the movie and trust in his vision. Because everything I think Gunn has directed has been great, and I think it's going to be great," Tulloch shared. "Yes, I'm bummed, but I also didn't go into playing Lois Lane thinking, 'Well, I'm going to be the last Lois Lane in history.' You know that at some point, you got to pass the baton to the next one, and that happened a little earlier than I expected, but I think Rachel Brosnahan's going to be great. David Corenswet's going to be a great Superman. It's time to pass the baton."

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