Netflix quietly drops all 10 seasons of ‘best superhero series ever written’

Netflix viewers can now watch every single episode of a superhero series that charted the coming-of-age of Superman.

Running for 10 seasons from 2001 until 2011, Smallville ‘followed the coming-of-age adventures of teenage Clark Kent in his fictional hometown of Smallville, Kansas, before he formally becomes the Man of Steel’.

The lead character was played by Tom Welling, who also went on to appear in Cheaper by the Dozen, Lucifer and The Winchesters.

Although there had initially been plans for an origin series on Bruce Wayne/Batman, it never went ahead but did inspire the origins of what would become Smallville.

The first five seasons of the show focused on Clark’s high school experience – including with love interest Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) and friendship with future foe Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum).

Later seasons then went on to see Clark enter early adulthood and career working at the Daily Planet, where he meets Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and eventually other DC comic book superheroes and villains.

By the end of the final season, Smallville had become the longest running science fiction television series in North America.  

This week all 10 seasons were released on Netflix, where fans new and old can dive into all of the episodes.

In the years since the series first aired, viewers have shared their thoughts online.

‘Loved the whole premise of the show Superman before he was Superman. Cast has great chemistry. Complex relationships. Could probably have progressed some storylines a little faster but still a lot of fun within those episodes. Show had me rooting for people and relationships I knew was destined to fail. One of my favourite rewatches,’ Brendan posted on IMDB.

‘The thing I love the most is how it’s a perfect blend of teen drama and Superman! I will never come over the emptiness I felt when I finished it,’ Freja shared.

‘Smallville is genuinely one of the best Superman projects out there and it gives us the only prequel project of Clark Kent’s steps to becoming The Man of Steel,’ Rowan added.

The series holds a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the season 1 critics consensus reading: ‘Smallville’s modern re-telling of the Superman saga benefits from a focus on teen angst and small-town drama instead of comic book camp.’

‘There is a lot of corn in Smallville, Kans., and some of it finds its way into the script. But the series rethinks familiar Superman motifs in fresh ways,’ Time wrote in its review.

‘Devoid of caricatures, this one is by far the best-ever TV depiction of the big fellow, framing him nicely as part of a coming-of-age story and treatise on little town America, before he moves to Metropolis,’ the Los Angeles Times said.

‘Human stories like this one made early Smallville relatable for its young audience, and the first season leaves on a cliffhanger that will blow viewers away,’ Collider added.

Although Smallville was never officially cancelled, it’s believed it wrapped up after declining viewer numbers.

A few days ago, Tom, now 48, spoke about making the decision to leave Los Angeles and move to a ranch to breed horses five years ago.

During the pandemic the actor and his wife – equestrian rider Jessica Rose Lee – felt stifled by their small home and decided to move to a small rural town in Northern California.  

‘No one bothers you in a small town,’ he told People in a new interview, adding that no-one cared he was in one of the biggest shows of the 00s.

‘Everyone’s famous in a small town,’ he laughed.

Although he never left the industry – Tom currently hosts the Smallville rewatch podcast TalkVille with former co-star Michael and is starring in the upcoming comedy Chasing Summer – he is also busy raising two children and helping his wife run her business breeding sport horses.

‘We have American sport horses, jumpers, and we breed. I’m more than happy to help, but she’s the captain of that ship,’ he said.

But he added that life on the ranch was ‘peaceful’ and ‘feels real’.

The actor initially worked as a model after being scouted on a beach in Nantucket, before being cast in commercials and then TV shows – landing Smallville just a few months after moving to LA.

‘I never went to college, but I did my master’s degree in television on Smallville. Plus, the character didn’t know what he was doing, and I didn’t know what I was doing, so it worked,’ he said.

Reflecting on the legacy of the show and how many fans it still has, he shared: ‘I think it’s amazing that something we made all those years ago still means so much to people.’

Smallville is streaming on Netflix.

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