Justice League to Launch Smallville: Season 8

This morning's TV Guide revealed Justice League will return to CW's top drama "Smallville" at the launch of season 8 in September. Following all the hoopla about actors leaving the show, here's a little recap now of who's leaving, who's back and who's joining the show next season.


The most notable is the departure of resident villain Lex Luthor who was played by Michael Rosenbaum since the show began in 2001.


Battlestar Galactica's Sam Witwer will become the show's new cetral villain, Doomsday, a.k.a. Davis Bloome, a charismatic Metropolis paramedic, with burgeoning darkness within.

Cassidy Freeman will also join the cast as series regular Tess Mercer, a sexy, cunning and ruthless new CEO of LuthorCorp. hired by Lex to run his empire in his absence.



Justin Hartley (Green Arrow/Oliver Queen), a recurring guest star in season 6, has become a new series regular. He will be back for at least 12 episodes, including the season premiere in which he summons Justice League to locate a missing Clark.



This time around, in addition to Green Arrow the league will comprise Aquaman (Alan Ritchson) and Black Canary (Alaina Huffman). Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris) will also make an appearance.



One of the original cast members Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) will no longer be a series regular, but she is said to be back for several special guest appearances.



Erica Durance (Lois Lane) will be back as series regular for at least 12 episodes. Her character will take her relationship with Clark to a new level, as he finally joins "The Daily Planet" and gets to work right across her.



Following difficult contractual negotiations, Allison Mack will also be back as Chloe. She remains one of the original series regulars and gets to appear in all 22 episodes.



As for some of the more recent faces, Aaron Ashmore is said to be back as Jimmy Olsen, but Laura Vandervoort (Supergirl/Kara) will not be one of the regulars. She may however appear in a handful of episodes.



Of course, series creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have departed the show for undisclosed reasons, but the long-time producers and writers promise they will do their best to keep their voices in the new storylines.

Although it seemed at one point last spring The CW was trying to squeeze out a very disappointing 8th season and the show began to resemble a sinking ship, with all the above-mentioned talent on board for at least a part of season 8, this may very well turn out to be a solid year for "Smallville."

I'll certainly keep my mind open for the sake of all the great stories this great team has already given us.

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