Coy Jandreau, co-host of DC Studios Showcase: The Official Podcast, said critics of HBO’s Lanterns “can choke on their own tongues dude, they’re not worth living,” in a clip that has circulated on X since Oct. 12.
He made the remarks on The Reel Rejects, an independent YouTube show, not on the official podcast. DC Studios and HBO had not commented at publication. The clip lands as Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver publicly pan the finale and as James Gunn’s “Sorry if you don’t like it” is still circulating among fans.
What Jandreau Said
The video is titled “Lanterns Be Really Exposing How Stupid Some People Are.” Jandreau appeared with host Greg Alba, who had received hostile comments about his coverage, and the two discussed the Lanterns finale and its critics.
Jandreau said: “I don’t miss the feeling of doubting whether or not I’d save someone’s life if they were drowning.” He asked whether he would “let someone die because they’re probably an idiot?” and answered, “Maybe.”
Then: “They can choke on their own tongues, dude; they’re not worth living.” He added, “we’re overpopulated,” and, “these people are cannon fodder, and that’s what they want to be.”
He went on: “They choke when they drink water. Stupid people. These are embarrassments to carbon, man.”
The Hal Jordan Death Set the Tone
The backlash began with the premiere, which ended with the death of Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler. Damon Lindelof told Entertainment Weekly his first reaction to the idea was, “They’re never gonna let us do that.” He said the writers considered saving the death for the finale and rejected that as too “clickbaity.” Lindelof also said, “We were immediately signaling to the audience this is where the show is willing to go.”
Gunn answered fans in September posts on Threads. Hal’s screen time, he wrote, is “more live action screen time than all the live action screen time he’s had combined throughout history.” Knowing when Hal dies “is absolutely not the same thing as killing him off right away.” He closed with: “Sorry if you don’t like it.”
The finale revealed that Sheriff Kerry Kane, played by Kelly Macdonald, was the killer, and John Stewart lets her avoid prison.
Morrison and Van Sciver on the Finale
Grant Morrison, writer of The Green Lantern, wrote in an Oct. 10 Substack post: “The Guardians are now fine with their operatives being murdered.” He called the finale “a morally and legally incoherent conclusion.”
Ethan Van Sciver, who drew Green Lantern: Rebirth with Geoff Johns, reviewed the finale on X on Oct. 7: “You failed.” He added, “In trying to demote Hal, you killed John’s decency, loyalty and his soul.”
Breitbart’s Warner Todd Huston wrote that Kane’s shooting of Hal “does not seem to make any logical sense,” and that Hal was “not acting belligerently or threatening her or Noah in any way.”
Jandreau is not the first voice tied to the official podcast to draw fire. Co-host Frankey Smith drew criticism last month for calling Hal a racist and telling a fan to watch Paw Patrol.
What the Numbers Show
The finale drew 10.5 million viewers globally and 7.2 million in the U.S. over three days of crossplatform viewing. The premiere drew 9.3 million globally and 6.6 million in the U.S. The season averaged about 19.3 million viewers globally.
The show holds 92% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 139 reviews. The audience score opened the season at 89% and sat at 70% after the finale, the lowest of the released DCU titles. Supergirl holds 72%, Creature Commandos 79%, Peacemaker Season 2 79% and Superman 90%.
HBO has not ordered a second season. Showrunner Chris Mundy is writing it anyway. DC Studios has no other TV series in production besides The People vs. Gorilla Grodd.
After Gunn’s “Sorry if you don’t like it” and Jandreau’s “they’re not worth living,” will DC Studios say whether a co-host of its official podcast speaks for the studio?
Sign up for the Ayla Rin: Gateway to Doom Crowdfund, coming soon for great cosmic comic books with a cover by legendary Green Lantern artist, Ethan Van Sciver:
These people still can't understand why their industry is in a state of systematic collapse. They can't grasp why jobs are in short supply, healthcare cost are skyrocketing, revelenacy falling, status and prestigae collapsing as well power and influence in sharp decline. These morons deserve their own demise. Its self inflicited and they'll still blame everyone when their homeless.
Coy Jandreau truly is inhuman. And another reason why the Millennial generation will be seen as a joke.