''Krypton'' is an American television series developed by

David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the '' Blade'' ...

for

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

. Focusing on

Seg-El The Superman dynasty, an extension of the House of El, is a lineage of DC Comics superheroes. The term is used for the descendants of Kal-El, the original Superman, who continue to uphold his legacy of heroism well into the 853rd century, as depic ...

(

Cameron Cuffe Cameron Charles D. Cuffe (born 5 April 1993) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Gino in the film ''Florence Foster Jenkins'' (2016), William Shannon in the ITV series ''The Halcyon'' (2017), and Seg-El in the Syfy series '' Krypt ...

), the grandfather of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

superhero Kal-El / Superman, the series is set approximately 200 years before the birth of Superman and takes place on the eponymous fictional planet. ''Krypton'' premiered on March 21, 2018. Its first season consists of ten episodes. The second season of ten episodes premiered on June 12, 2019. After its broadcast, Syfy canceled the series after two seasons in August.

Premise

''Krypton'' follows Superman's grandfather, Seg-El, whose family, the House of El, has been ostracized and shamed. Seg fights to redeem his family's honor and save his beloved world from chaos.

Cast and characters

Main

as Seg-El: Scion of the House of El, father of

Jor-El Jor-El, originally known as Jor-L, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 with Superma ...

and the future grandfather of Kal-El, who will become the iconic superhero

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

. ** Nicholas Witham-Mueller as Young Seg-El. *

Georgina Campbell Georgina Alice Campbell (born 12 June 1992) is an English actress and model. She won the 2015 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for '' Murdered by My Boyfriend'' (2014). Her other television credits include ''Flowers'' (2016), ''Broadchurch'' (20 ...

as Lyta-Zod: The Primus in the Kryptonian military guild who was previously in a clandestine relationship with Seg-El. *

Shaun Sipos Shaun Sipos (born October 30, 1981) is a Canadian actor, known for playing Jack on the ABC series ''Complete Savages'', Eric Daniels on ''Life Unexpected,'' David Breck on The CW series ''Melrose Place'', Aaron Whitmore on The CW's ''The Vampi ...

as Adam Strange: A human from the future who forewarns Seg-El of Brainiac, and tells him of his yet-to-be born grandson Kal-El/Clark Kent. *

Elliot Cowan Elliot Aidan Cowan (born 9 July 1976) is an English actor, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in ''Ultimate Force'', Mr Darcy in ''Lost in Austen'', and Ptolemy in the 2004 film ''Alexander''. He also starred as Lorenzo de' Medici in ...

as Daron-Vex: The former chief magistrate of Kandor, charged with defending Krypton's oligarchy. * Ann Ogbomo as Jayna-Zod: The former Primus of the Kryptonian military guild, and mother of Lyta. Asiatu Koroma portrays young Jayna. *

Aaron Pierre Aaron Jordan Pierre (born 17 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for League Two club Sutton United and the Grenada national team. He began his career in the academy at Premier League club Fulham, before ...

Dev-Em Dev-Em is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #287 (June 1961), created by Jerry Siegel and George Papp. Various versions of the Dev-Em character has appeared over the years in ''Legion of Supe ...

: A former commander in the Kryptonian army, and Lyta's ex-betrothed. * Rasmus Hardiker as Kem: A former bar owner and Seg's best friend. * Wallis Day as Nyssa-Vex: The former junior magistrate and the daughter of Daron-Vex. She and Seg have a son, Cor-Vex, whom they rename Jor-El. *

Blake Ritson Blake Adam Ritson (born 14 January 1978) is an English actor and director. Early life Blake was born on 14, June, 1978 in London and attended the Dolphin School in Reading, Berkshire until 1993, before going to St Paul's School in West Lond ...

as Brainiac: An alien android being from the planet

Colu Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #242 in July 1958. Brainiac is usually depicted as an extrate ...

who collects cities from planets. Brainiac takes over the mind of Krypton's religious figure the Voice of Rao. * Ian McElhinney as Val-El: Seg's grandfather, who defied death by going to the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created ...

and is a staunch believer in space exploration. *

Colin Salmon Colin Salmon (born ) is a British actor. He is known for playing Charles Robinson in three James Bond films and James "One" Shade in the ''Resident Evil'' film series. He has had roles on many television series such as ''Doctor Who'', ''Merli ...

as General Dru-Zod: The future son of Lyta-Zod and Seg-El and the new ruler of Krypton. *

Hannah Waddingham Hannah Waddingham (born 28 July 1974) is a British actress and singer. She is best known for playing Rebecca Welton in the comedy series '' Ted Lasso'' (2020–present), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actre ...

as Jax-Ur (formerly Sela-Sonn) (main season 2; recurring season 1): ex-leader of the Black Zero terrorist group and Val's former protégée.

Recurring

* Alexis Raben as Rhom (season 1): A rankless Kryptonian, the mother of Ona, and a friend of the House of El. * Tipper Seifert-Cleveland as Ona (season 1): The daughter of Rhom who is made a disciple of Rao upon being orphaned. * Andrea Vasiliou as Kol-Da (season 1): A callous member of the Sagitari, and Daron's lover. * Sarah Armstrong as Kiyo (season 1): A member of Black Zero. * India Mullen as Sevi (season 1): A member of the Religious Guild who attended to the Voice of Rao. * Kim Adis as Anda (recurring - season 1; guest - season 2): A member of the Religious Guild who attend to the voice of Rao. * Sonita Henry as Raika (season 1 and 2): A member of the Cythonnite sect who is saved by Seg, and later assists him. * Shobu Kapoor as Mama Zed (season 1 and 2): An adoptive mother of Kem. * Lukas Loughran as Junra (season 1): A member of the Cythonnite sect who is hostile towards outsiders. * Beatrice Comins as Anireh (season 1): The leader of the Cythonnite sect. * Faisal Mohammed (uncredited) as Vidar-Zod (season 1 and 2): A brother of Jayna-Zod and the son of Lor-Zod, who was trained to become a powerful warrior, but he died in one mission on Outlands. In the season 2, he is an hallucination to Jayna-Zod. ** Malachi Halett as Young Vidar. * Nicholas Prasad as Mal (season 1): A Black Zero operative and a right hand to Jax-Ur. * Emmett J. Scanlan as Lobo (season 2): A bounty hunter and assassin with regenerative powers and enhanced strength who is living on Colu and wants revenge against Brainiac. *

Kae Alexander Kae Yukawa, known professionally as Kae Alexander, is a Japanese-born British actress. She gained prominence through her role as Jing Hua in '' Bad Education'' and its spinoff film. She played Leaf in the sixth season of ''Game of Thrones'', Li ...

as Araame (season 2): A former Sagitari instructor and one of Nyssa's former lovers who is a rebel fighter on Wegthor and a right hand to Jax-Ur. * Ciaran Owens as Preus (season 2): A Sagitari commander on the moon Wegthor. * Aoibhinn McGinnity as Lis-Ser (season 2): A Kryptonian scientist trying to put Doomsday under Dru-Zod's control.

Guest

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...

as Ter-El (season 1): Seg's father. *

Paula Malcomson Paula Malcomson (born 1 June 1970) is a Northern Irish actress. She is sometimes credited as Paula Williams. She is known as Trixie in ''Deadwood'' (2004-2006), Maureen Ashby in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2010), and as Abby Donovan in ''Ray Donovan'' ...

as Charys-El (season 1): Seg's mother. * Gordon Alexander as Quex-Ul (season 1): The former commander of Lyta's Sagitari squadron. * Emmanuel Ighodaro as Lor-Zod (season 1): A Sagitari and father of Jayna-Zod and Vidar-Zod who trained them to become a warriors in the past before passing away. * Toby Alexander-Smith as Lor-Ran (season 2): A former Rankless and a recruit into Sagitari. *

Staz Nair Staz Nair is a British actor and singer. He is known for his roles on the TV series '' Game of Thrones'' and ''Supergirl''. Life and career Nair is of Malayali and Russian descent. He was a part of the band Times Red. The band were contestants ...

as Dax-Baron / Doomsday: A Kryptonian who participated in a test which turned him into Doomsday. Doomsday appears in CGI throughout the first and second season while Nair appears in his Kryptonian form during flashbacks in the second season. * Toni O'Rourke as Wedna-El (season 2): A Kryptonian scientist who was responsible for creating Doomsday. * Dempsey Bovell as Van-Zod (season 2): A Kryptonian scientist who was also responsible for creating Doomsday.

Episodes

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Production

Development

In October 2014,

was developing a prequel television series titled ''Krypton''. The series was in development by

network, produced by Goyer and written and executive produced by

Ian Goldberg Ian Avrum Goldberg (born March 31, 1973) is a cryptographer and cypherpunk. He is best known for breaking Netscape's implementation of SSL (with David Wagner), and for his role as chief scientist of Radialpoint (formerly Zero Knowledge Syst ...

Damian Kindler Damian Kindler (born May 31, 1968) is a television and film writer, director and producer. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Kindler's family swiftly emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he was raised. He currently resides in Venice, California, US. ...

was the showrunner with Goyer as co-executive producer. Syfy tweeted a debut of the show in 2018. Hawkwoman was originally announced to appear in the series, but was later decided by the showrunners not to include her in the first season of the series due to her not fitting into the ongoing storylines. Syfy renewed ''Krypton'' for a second season, which premiered on June 12, 2019. Soon after its broadcast, Syfy canceled the series after two seasons in August.

Casting

The casting process began in 2016 and finished in 2018.

was first cast as Lyta Zod.

was cast as Adam Strange. It was intended by the show's creators to be LGBTQ+ character, but this was only implied following alleged interference from former DC executive

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serv ...

. Cameron Cuffe was cast as Seg-El.

Regé-Jean Page Regé-Jean Page (; born Regererai Page on 27 April 1988) is a British actor. He is known for his breakout role in the first series of the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020). Acting professionally since 2001, Page has also appeared in ...

auditioned for the role but was not cast because Johns reportedly believed the character had to resemble Superman actor

Henry Cavill Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Gera ...

due to initial fan perception that the show could serve as a possible prequel to the 2013 movie '' Man of Steel''. Alongside Cameron Cuffe, other actors Ian McElhinney,

, Ann Ogbomo, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, and

were cast as Val-El, Daron-Vex, Jayna-Zod, Kem, Nyssa-Vex, and Dev-Em.

was cast as Brainiac.

was cast as Charys, while

was cast as Jax-Ur. Emmett J. Scanlan was cast as Lobo for the second season.

Filming

In June 2016, production on the pilot was slated to begin later in the year in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. By September, the pilot was filmed in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

by Colm McCarthy. The second season began filming in October 2018 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and wrapped on March 3, 2019.

Release

Broadcast

''Krypton''s first season premiered on March 21, 2018 and concluded on May 23 with a total of ten episodes. The second season premiered on June 12, 2019. The first season became available on DC's streaming service

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...

on April 5, 2019, with the second season airing on August 11, 2020.

Home media

The first season was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 5, 2019. The second season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 14, 2020.

Other media

In 2018, DC debuted a comic book version of ''Krypton'' featuring the show's cast on the cover for Free Comic Book Day. An after show titled ''Decrypting Krypton'' premiered on Syfy on March 21, following ''Krypton'' premiere episode. ''Decrypting Krypton'' featured host Matt Hiscox discussing the latest episode with fans, actors, and producers of ''Krypton''.

Reception

Critical reception

The first season holds a score of 60% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 6.26/10. Rotten Tomatoes's critical consensus reads: "''Krypton''s eccentricity declines into silliness with a dull narrative that fails to fulfill a promising premise". On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". A 100% approval rating for the second season was reported by Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.96/10 based on 10 reviews. Its critical consensus reads: "Fresh faces, exceptional performances, and a more clearly defined sense of purpose help ''Krypton'' find its footing".

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Accolades

Cancelled spin-off

In June 2019, Syfy announced a spin-off based on Lobo, set to be produced by Cameron Welsh, who also executive produced ''Krypton''. However, in August, the spin-off was not moving forward alongside ''Krypton''s cancellation after two seasons.

References

External links

Official Warner Bros. SiteOfficial DC Comics Site
* * {{David S. Goyer 2010s American drama television series 2010s American science fiction television series 2018 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings American prequel television series American superhero television series 2010s American time travel television series English-language television shows Superman television series Syfy original programming Television shows based on DC Comics Television series about extraterrestrial life Television series by Warner Horizon Television Television shows filmed in Montreal Television series set on fictional planets Television series created by David S. Goyer Television shows filmed in Serbia