Superman & Lois has gone through some significant restructuring ahead of the show’s fourth season, which heavily implies that it will end with season four. Superman & Lois tells the story of Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and his wife, Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), 20 years into being Superman. With Clark and Lois raising their teenage sons Jordan (Alex Garfin) and Jonathan (Jordan Elsass in seasons one and two, and Michael Bishop in season three) in Clark’s hometown of Smallville, Superman & Lois follows Kal-El across many adventures, from battling supervillains from across the multiverse to helping Jordan sharpen his own Kryptonian powers.
While Superman & Lois tells its own unique Superman story, it may soon be coming to an end. Though Superman & Lois has been renewed for a fourth season, seven members of Superman & Lois‘s cast have been removed from the show as regular cast members due to budget cuts, though they reportedly could still appear in recurring roles. Meanwhile, Michael Cudlitz will play Lex Luthor as a series regular in season four. Of course, even a show as good as Superman & Lois cannot last forever, but Superman & Lois can nonetheless conclude with an ending worthy of the Man of Steel and the show’s ensemble cast.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Is Already Disappointing
While the upgrade of Michael Cudlitz’s Lex Luthor to a series regular is exciting news, the removal of so many of Superman & Lois‘s supporting cast is a major loss to the show, as they all have compelling stories of their own. The Cushing family, in particular, have all had strong arcs, with Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) becoming Smallville’s mayor at the same time that her marriage to Kyle (Erik Valdez) is dissolving due to his infidelities. This also is part of what leads Lana and Kyle’s daughter Sarah (Inde Navarrette) to form such a strong bond with Jordan Kent.
Superman & Lois has also been the first major Superman adaptation to depict his heroic alliance with John Henry Irons (Wolé Parks), who canonically becomes the superhero Steel in the comics and is well on his way there on Superman & Lois. John’s daughter Natalie (Tayler Buck) has also been a crucial ally to both her father and Clark, as is the case for Lois’ father General Sam Lane (Dylan Walsh), as a co-mentor to the Kent boys. With Superman & Lois boasting such a strong cast of characters, the alterations to the show’s regular cast in season four cannot help but seem like a signal of a larger refocus.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Already Seems Like The End
In losing so many of its regular players, the cast changes are not the only indicator of Superman & Lois ending with season four. With Superman & Lois‘s first two seasons consisting of 15 episodes each, Superman & Lois season 3 is coming in shorter at 13 episodes. With Superman & Lois season four reduced to an episode count of 10, that might help it tell a somewhat more compact story, but that also signals the show is nearing its conclusion.
Additionally, with the conclusion of the Arrowverse in The Flash‘s season nine finale and the cancellation of Gotham Knights, Superman & Lois stands as the last DC-based show on the CW (Superman & Lois even separated itself from the Arrowverse in season two’s finale). With the network’s budget cuts and reported refocusing to new kinds of programming, the writing seems to be on the wall that Superman & Lois will indeed end with season four. While this might be unfortunate news with the loss of so many of the show’s supporting cast, that does not mean that Superman & Lois‘s final season will be a lackluster finale either.
How Superman & Lois Can Still Have A Good Ending
If Superman & Lois is indeed intended to conclude with season four, the show has the advantage of being able to plan ahead for its season four finale to give it an appropriately definitive conclusion. With Superman & Lois season three said to end on a cliffhanger, per Tyler Hoechlin, it will be able to wrap up the show without any loose ends remaining. This means that any story ties to Lois’s cancer diagnosis can be completed in season four (hopefully with Lois beating her cancer), and Superman & Lois could even fully show Jordan as Superboy at last as he follows in his father’s footsteps.
With Superman’s arch-enemy, Lex Luthor, to be a regular for season four, Superman & Lois can also end by presenting an entirely new version of the character in an epic showdown with the Man of Steel. Superman & Lois should also still utilize its cut supporting cast to the greatest extent possible to conclude their stories, hopefully with the whole cast at least back for the final episode. While the behind-the-scenes developments going into Superman & Lois season four have been unfortunate, the right approach to its story could very well enable Superman & Lois season four to stick the landing as the show’s likely final season.
