Superman & Lois is ending after four seasons, which is a premature bow for a series that’s been a bright spot amid a steep decline in DC’s broadcast television prominence. This is more than a sentimental notion. The show’s star Elizabeth Tulloch confirmed during a recent podcast appearance that a longer run was intended.
“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,” she said on The Sackhoff Show with Katee Sackhoff. Tulloch explained this was caused by the corporate chaos happening to The CW and Warner Bros.
“People keep putting the blame on [James] Gunn and [Peter] Safran, but the reality is The CW was sold to Nexstar, Warner Bros. had a new head in David Zaslav, and then also DC Comics had new heads,” she added. Tulloch would add more about Gunn, saying she thinks he is unfairly blamed.
“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,” she said.
“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,” Tulloch continued.
She also confirmed reports of budget cuts and the sparing use of some cast members. “All we could do was go into it and give it our best, and it was tough because [on] 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,” she explained.
“Kudos to the writers for making it feel like at least some of those cast were in every episode, so it didn’t feel like a different show at all. It still feels like the same show,” she added.