Krypton is an American television series developed by David S. Goyer for Syfy. Focusing on Seg-El, the grandfather of DC Comics 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. In May 2018, Syfy renewed Krypton for a second season of ten episodes, which premiered on June 12, 2019. In August 2019, Syfy canceled the series after two seasons.
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
Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El: Scion of the House of El, father of Jor-El and the future grandfather of Kal-El, who will become the iconic superhero Superman
*Nicholas Witham-Mueller as Young Seg-El.
Georgina Campbell as Lyta-Zod: The Primus in the Kryptonian military guild who was previously in a clandestine relationship with Seg-El
Shaun Sipos 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 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 as Dev-Em: A former commander in the Kryptonian army, and Lyta's ex-betrothed
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 as Brainiac: An alien android being from the planet Colu 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 and is a staunch believer in space exploration
Colin Salmon as General Dru-Zod: The future son of Lyta-Zod and Seg-El and the new ruler of Krypton
India Mullen as Sevi : A member of the Religious Guild who attended to the Voice of Rao
Sonita Henry as Raika: A member of the Cythonnite sect who is saved by Seg, and later assists him
Lukas Loughran as Junra: A member of the Cythonnite sect who is hostile towards outsiders
Emmett J. Scanlan as Lobo : A bounty hunter and assassin with regenerative powers and enhanced strength who is living on Colu and wants revenge against Brainiac
Aoibhinn McGinnity as Lis-Ser : A Kryptonian scientist trying to put Doomsday under Dru-Zod's control
Gordon Alexander as Quex-Ul : The former commander of Lyta's Sagitari squadron.
Staz Nair 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 : A Kryptonian scientist who was responsible for creating Doomsday.
Dempsey Bovell as Van-Zod : A Kryptonian scientist who was also responsible for creating Doomsday.
In October 2014, it was reported that David S. Goyer was developing a prequel television series titled Krypton. In December 2014, it was confirmed that the series was in development and would air on the Syfy network. Later it was announced that the series would be produced by Goyer and written and executive produced by Ian Goldberg. In May 2016, TVLine reported that Syfy had given the official pilot order for the series, and that Damian Kindler would be the showrunner with Goyer as co-executive producer. On April 18, 2017, the first teaser trailer of Krypton was released online, teasing the show's debut in 2017. However, the following month, Syfy tweeted a debut of 2018. Hawkwoman was originally announced to appear in the series; it was later announced by the showrunners that they had decided not to include Hawkwoman in the first season of the series due to her not fitting into the ongoing storylines. On May 22, 2018, Syfy renewed Krypton for a second season, which premiered on June 12, 2019. In August 2019, Syfy canceled the series after two seasons.
Casting
In September 2016, Georgina Campbell, was cast as Lyta Zod. In September 2017, Shaun Sipos was cast as Adam Strange. The following month, Cameron Cuffe, Ian McElhinney, Elliot Cowan, Ann Ogbomo, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, and Aaron Pierre were cast as Seg-El, Val-El, Daron-Vex, Jayna-Zod, Kem, Nyssa-Vex, and Dev-Em. In November, Blake Ritson was cast as Brainiac. In November 2017, Paula Malcomson was cast as Charys. In January 2018, Hannah Waddingham was cast as Jax-Ur. In September, Emmett J. Scanlan was cast as Lobo.
Filming
In June 2016, production on the pilot was slated to begin later in the year in Montreal. By September 2016, the pilot was to be filmed in Serbia by Colm McCarthy. The second season began filming in October 2018 in Belfast and wrapped March 3, 2019.
Release
Broadcast
Kryptons first season premiered on March 21, 2018 and concluded 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 on April 5, 2019, with the second season scheduled for 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, 2018, following Krypton premiere episode. Decrypting Krypton features host Matt Hiscox discussing the latest episode with fans, actors, and producers of Krypton.
Reception
Critical reception
The series holds a score of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 6.26/10. Rotten Tomatoes's critical consensus reads: "Kryptons eccentricity declines into silliness with a dull narrative that fails to fulfill a promising premise." On Metacritic, 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.
Ratings
Season 1
Season 2
Accolades
Cancelled spin-off
On June 12, 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 Kryptons cancellation after two seasons.
