All the Actors Who Played Superman & Lois Lane on TV (PHOTOS)
George Reeves
Reeves played the superhero on Adventures of Superman, the character’s TV debut, which debuted in syndication in 1952 and aired until 1958, one year before the actor’s mysterious death.
Phyllis Coates
Coates was the Lois to George Reeves’ Clark in the first season of Adventures of Superman, but other work prevented her from returning for Season 2. She did, however, play Lois’ mom in one episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Noel Neill
Neill took over for Coates and played the intrepid reporter for the rest of Adventures of Superman‘s six-season run. She later had small roles in the TV show Superboy and in the film Superman Returns.
John Newton
Newton starred as the title character for the first season of the 1988 syndicated series Superboy, which depicted Clark Kent as a college student.
Gerard Christopher
Christopher replaced Newton for Superboy Season 2 and kept the role until the show’s finale in Season 4.
Dean Cain
Cain donned the cape for Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which aired on ABC between 1993 and 1997, and later returned to the IP in both Smallville and Supergirl.
Teri Hatcher
Before her role on Desperate Housewives, Hatcher was best known for starring opposite Cain in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She later guest-starred on Smallville as Lois’ mother, Ella Lane, just as Coates had done for her on Lois & Clark.
Tom Welling
Welling also played a younger version of the character, starring in all 10 seasons of The WB/The CW’s Smallville, a show focused on Clark discovering his powers while trying to have as normal an adolescence as possible. He’s reprising the part in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Erica Durance
Durance joined Smallville in Season 4 and soon superseded Lana Lang as Clark’s love interest. She later appeared in Supergirl as Kara’s Kryptonian mother, Alura For-El, and as the craftily-named Agent Noel Neill. She’ll reprise her Smallville role alongside Welling in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Tyler Hoechlin
Hoechlin has appeared as Superman in the Arrowverse since 2016 on Supergirl, Arrow, and The Flash. In addition to his part in Superman & Lois, he’ll also appear as the last son of Krypton in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Elizabeth Tulloch
Tulloch made her debut as Lois in the Arrowverse’s “Elseworlds” crossover in December 2018, and she, too, will be back for the upcoming “Crisis” before getting to work on Superman & Lois.
Brandon Routh
Routh, who played the Man of Steel on the big screen in 2006’s Superman Returns, will reprise the part in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” after years of portraying Ray Palmer a.k.a. The Atom on The CW’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
No, those aren’t three birds or three planes — they’re the three Supermans in The CW’s upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event. Yes, this winter’s Arrowverse crossover won’t just combine the casts of Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, it’ll also bring together three actors who played the Man of Steel — as well as two who have played Metropolis’ finest journalist, Lois Lane.
Plus, two of those talents are going on to star in their own Arrowverse series, the just-announced Superman & Lois project.
In light of all this excitement, we’re looking back at the actors who have appeared as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane on the small screen over the years. Click through the gallery above to see these “super” stars.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services