Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers
Alfred Gough and
Miles Millar, based on the
DC Comics character Superman created by
Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by
The WB, premiering on October 16, 2001.
After its fifth season, The WB and
UPN merged to form
The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States.
began its ninth season on September 25, 2009.
The series follows the adventures of
Clark Kent (
Tom Welling), who resides in the
fictional town of
Smallville,
Kansas, during the years before he becomes
Superman. The first four seasons focused on Clark and his friends' high school years. Since season five, the show has ventured into more adult settings, eventually focusing on his career at the
Daily Planet, as well as introducing other
DC comic book
superheroes and
villains.
The concept for
Smallville was derived after
a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming
Batman failed to get off the ground. After meeting with the president of
Warner Bros. Television, Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at the events that led Clark Kent to become Superman. After seven seasons with the show, series developers Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason.
Smallville is predominantly filmed in and around
Vancouver, with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music is primarily composed by
Mark Snow, who incorporates elements of
John Williams's musical score from the original
Superman film series. The song played under the opening titles is "
Save Me" by
Remy Zero; several episodes also contain songs written and performed by other bands.
