Smallville’s Creators Had 1 Major Regret About the Series (& They Were Right)

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Smallville followed the early life of Clark Kent, showing his challenges as he developed his superpowers and ultimately became Superman. The show, which began in 2001, was popular for its depiction of small-town life and helped launch the trend of superhero TV series. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, it starred Tom Welling as Clark Kent and Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, and ran for ten seasons.

After the hit show Wednesday on Netflix, creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar recently reflected on their earlier work, Smallville, expressing satisfaction with the story they crafted. They noted that Smallville debuted just a month after the 9/11 attacks and provided a sense of comfort during a difficult time. Looking back twenty years later, they revealed there’s one aspect of the show they would alter if they could. They shared these thoughts in a recent interview.

Lana Could Have Been a Much Stronger Character

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar recently revisited their hit show, Smallville, and shared one thing they would change. While the show is still considered a success after more than two decades, they now feel they could have developed the character of Lana Lang in a better way.

The TV show Smallville had seasons with 22 episodes each. The creators knew times were different and were careful with their decisions, aiming for at least five seasons. However, co-creator Gough later said the romantic storyline between Clark and Lana went on for too long. Millar also felt Lana Lang could have been developed into a more impactful character.

Lana Lang was a major love interest for Clark Kent throughout the series Smallville. They had a complicated relationship, constantly breaking up and getting back together. As the girl next door, living close to the Kent farm, she seemed like the perfect match for Clark. Unfortunately, her life was constantly threatened by people with powers from the meteor shower, and Clark often had to hide his own abilities, which created problems for their relationship.

Lana starts out running a coffee shop, but as the story unfolds, she becomes fascinated with meteors and the possibility of life beyond Earth. This leads her to move to Metropolis to study astronomy in college. While facing various challenges, Lana eventually dedicates herself to helping people affected by the meteors, and ultimately becomes a crime-fighting hero.

Even though Lana ultimately became a powerful character on Smallville, she spent much of the series as someone who needed to be saved. The on-again, off-again romance with Clark became predictable and stale after the third season.

Clark and Lana’s Romance Stretched Out for Too Long

Clark and Lana had a long romance throughout the eight seasons of Smallville, but they faced many obstacles. Early on, Clark’s secret identity created distrust between them. They found happiness together for a while after Clark temporarily lost his powers in season five, but when his powers returned, so did the distance between them.

Lana later married Lex Luthor and discovered Clark’s secret identity. Clark and Lana had a relationship throughout most of season seven, but when actress Kristin Kreuk left the show, their storyline ended quickly. Kreuk did return for a short time in season eight.

Reflecting on the show Smallville, Alfred Gough acknowledges that the romance between Clark and Lana became predictable. He suggests that if they could revisit the series, they’d explore those relationships more boldly, allowing storylines to develop and reach natural conclusions rather than repeating familiar patterns.

Many viewers felt the couple’s relationship dragged on for too long, and some lost interest after the fifth season. The constant cycle of getting together and breaking up became predictable and stale, as the reasons for their splits were always the same.

Viewers also struggled with the prolonged romantic tension between Clark and Lana because they knew the characters wouldn’t ultimately end up together, making the slow burn feel unnecessary. The show’s creators, Gough and Millar, explain this decision was influenced by the television landscape at the time, noting that expectations for how shows were run were different back then.

Millar recalls they were careful about the show’s central relationship, wanting to avoid rushing things. They hoped to last five seasons, and ended up with ten, but worried about what would happen if the characters became a couple. At the time, it was widely thought that pairing up the main characters too early would ruin the show’s romantic appeal.

Because of this, television shows often created obstacles to keep potential couples separated. Like many shows of that time, writers used various techniques to build romantic tension, with mixed results. For instance, One Tree Hill stretched out the romance between Lucas and Peyton for five seasons, while Veronica Mars consistently found excuses to keep Veronica and Logan from getting together.

Lana Was Mostly Used as a Plot Device

Lana Lang wasn’t a consistently strong or deeply explored character on Smallville. Initially, she seemed like a simple, classic ‘girl next door’ type. For much of the show’s early seasons, she was repeatedly put in danger by people affected by the meteors, often because of obsession or jealousy. Her stories largely focused on her romantic relationships, and she was often defined by the men she dated.

Millar feels her character, Lana, lacked independence and was often portrayed as vulnerable. She acknowledges the context of the time but believes the character could have been written as stronger and more empowered, and that’s something she’d like to see improved in future iterations.

Lana’s character feels inconsistent, which makes it hard to truly connect with her. She often acted differently depending on what the story needed at the moment, and this made her seem like a tool used to advance the plot rather than a fully developed person. It felt like she wasn’t acting based on her own desires or reasons.

She followed in her mother’s footsteps as a cheerleader, and later opened a coffee shop as a way to preserve a meaningful place from her parents’ past. It wasn’t until she moved to Paris to study art that she seemed to make a truly independent choice. However, even then, her path was quickly taken over by an ancestral witch, meaning she continued to be shaped by external forces instead of directing her own life.

Later seasons of Smallville show Lana Lang changing dramatically. She marries Lex Luthor in season six, and her character becomes much darker, motivated by a strong dislike of the Luthor family. She starts acting in deceptive and controlling ways, ultimately attempting to make it look like Lex tried to kill her at the end of the season.

Returning in season seven, she kidnaps Lionel Luthor and holds him captive in a secluded cabin, reminiscent of the movie Misery. After a lightning strike unexpectedly gives her Clark’s powers, she uses them to pursue her own dangerous plans and attempts to kill Lex. This marks a turning point for Lana Lang, as she finally takes control of her own narrative.

Wednesday Does Things Right

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar say becoming fathers changed how they write women. This is clear in their popular 2022 series, Wednesday, which features several compelling and fully realized female characters.

Wednesday centers around Wednesday Addams and her time at Nevermore Academy. While learning to control her emerging psychic powers, she investigates a mysterious series of killings terrorizing the nearby town of Jericho, using her detective skills to uncover the identity of the monster responsible.

Tim Millar, speaking about the show, said that Wednesday is a tribute to individuality and embracing what makes you different, and being proud of it. Jenna Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams is unique and a bit gothic, but she ultimately serves as a positive influence in the Netflix series. Wednesday has connected with many viewers, and the main character is becoming a powerful role model for young women.

Millar shared how rewarding it is to create this character, explaining that they were really inspired to write a teen girl who is confident, intelligent, unique, and doesn’t apologize for being herself – a type of character you don’t often see.

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2026-05-18 19:09