Aug
22,
2026
Audiences tuning into HBO’s highly anticipated Lanterns on Sunday were introduced to a new chapter in the DC Universe, following Hal Jordan and John Stewart as the unlikely pair investigate a dark mystery with cosmic implications. The series officially premiered August 16, following its Los Angeles premiere at Paramount Theatre on August 13.
But before viewers entered the world of Lanterns on screen, guests at the show’s Los Angeles premiere were given a chance to step into a world inspired by it.
Behind the design and fabrication of the premiere and after-party experience was Freehold Group, the Los Angeles-based company led by CEO Brendan McDermott.
For Freehold, the challenge wasn’t simply creating an attractive backdrop for a Hollywood premiere. It was taking the creative language of a major DC Studios property and translating it into a physical environment; one that had to work as a red-carpet setting, a destination for guests, an after-party environment and, perhaps most importantly, an extension of the story audiences were about to experience.
“When you’re working with a property like Lanterns, you’re not just building an event space. You’re translating an entire world into something people can physically walk into,” says McDermott.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important as entertainment marketing evolves.
A premiere is no longer simply the moment when a cast walks a red carpet and a film or series begins streaming. For major entertainment properties, the physical environment surrounding a premiere can become an extension of the campaign itself – creating content, social moments and an emotional connection between audiences and the world of the story.
And for a property rooted in one of the most recognizable comic book universes in the world, that opportunity is particularly significant.
Building Beyond the Screen
Lanterns, a DC Studios drama produced in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. The series follows the two Green Lanterns as they investigate a murder in the American heartland, blending a grounded mystery with the larger mythology of the DC Universe.
That grounded approach also presented an interesting creative challenge: How do you create an environment that feels connected to a massive comic book mythology while still reflecting the tone of a sophisticated television drama?
That’s where experiential design comes into play. Freehold’s role was to bring the creative vision into the physical world through design, fabrication and installation; work that happens largely out of sight of the guests who ultimately experience the finished product.
From the first creative conversations to fabrication, installation and final event execution, the process requires a combination of design sensitivity and logistical precision.
Every element has to work.
It needs to look right in person.
It needs to photograph well.
It needs to accommodate guests and talent.
And it needs to reinforce the identity of the property without overwhelming it.
“The goal is never to make something that simply looks good in photographs,” McDermott says. “The experience has to feel intentional from the moment someone arrives. You’re creating an environment that supports the story while still allowing people to have their own experience within it.”
The Invisible Work Behind the Moment
For guests arriving at a premiere, the finished environment can appear almost effortless.
The reality is anything but. Experiential design involves an intricate process of creative development, fabrication, logistics, installation and on-site execution, often working against tight timelines and within spaces that have their own operational requirements.
The premiere itself may last only a few hours. The work behind it can take weeks or months. That “invisible” production is precisely where Freehold has built its business.
The company has worked across sports, entertainment, retail and culture, with recent projects spanning Nike and Jordan Brand activations, Super Bowl and NBA All-Star experiences, FIFA World Cup initiatives, WNBA All-Star programming, GAP, Athleta and more.
The common thread is the physical experience: taking a brand, property or cultural moment that audiences already recognize and giving them somewhere to go inside it.
From Sports to Hollywood
Freehold’s recent work also demonstrates how increasingly similar the worlds of sports and entertainment have become.
A Nike activation around a major sporting event requires the same fundamental question as a Hollywood premiere: How do you make people feel like they’re part of the moment?
Whether it’s a Jordan Brand experience surrounding NBA All-Star Weekend, a Nike World Cup activation, an Old Navy retail environment or an HBO premiere, consumers are increasingly encountering brands and entertainment properties through physical experiences designed to generate participation and connection.
For Freehold, Lanterns represents another evolution of that philosophy; one that moves beyond traditional advertising and into world-building.
And in Los Angeles, where entertainment and experiential culture increasingly intersect, the opportunity is particularly powerful.
The city’s biggest premieres aren’t happening in isolation. They are becoming cultural moments of their own, with red carpets, installations, retail, social content and fan experiences all contributing to how audiences perceive a property.
The premiere of Lanterns offered a glimpse at that future: a fictional universe moving from the screen into the real world, if only for one night.
For the audience, it was part of the celebration surrounding a highly anticipated new chapter of the DC Universe.
For the team behind the scenes, it was something more complicated. It was the challenge of taking a world that exists in imagination and building it in real life – And then making it disappear as effortlessly as it appeared.
Lanterns releases episodes weekly on Sunday through the October 4, 2026 finale on HBO and HBO Max.
