The first season of Lanterns was ordered for eight episodes.
HBO placed an eight-episode straight-to-series order in June 2024. The episodes were expected to have approximately hour-long runtimes, matching the show’s position as a major HBO drama rather than a short promotional special.
The first episode is titled “Pilot” and was written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King. James Hawes directed the pilot and the second episode. The remaining episodes were assigned to several writers and directors, including Vanessa Baden Kelly, Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson, Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov.
The planned release schedule is weekly. The season begins on August 16, 2026, and its eighth episode is scheduled for October 4, 2026. Earlier versions of the long-developed Green Lantern project had been discussed as a ten-episode season, but the current Lanterns series received an eight-episode order.