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Smallville at 25: Welling and Rosenbaum look back
The WB drama ran ten seasons, and in a quiz video Welling guessed a trillion live viewers while the real answer was eight point four million.
Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN Tonight at 6:53 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Variety's, the jokes are ours.

At a glance
- First reported by Variety: “‘Smallville’ at 25: Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum on Clark Kent and Lex Luthor’s Origin Story, the Journey to Superman and That Final Moment”.
- Covered on BBN on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 6:53 PM ET on BBN Tonight, by Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock.
- Topics: Origin.
- BBN covered this story before: Paris protests turn chaotic; spider-killer fungi found in China (October 18).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSmallville is turning twenty-five, and stars Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum have been looking back at Clark Kent and Lex Luthor's origin story, Variety reports.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI love a reunion. I'm told it's a show about Superman as a teenager, which is a brave place to start a career.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt ran ten seasons on The WB, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorTen seasons. Clark never once just told somebody, and I find that very relatable and very unhealthy.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe cast also did a New York Comic Con panel called The Road to Superman, with Kristin Kreuk and Erica Durance.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIs Superman at that one? The panel's called The Road to Superman, so I assume he's still on his way.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNo.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIn a quiz video, they had to guess the live viewer count. Rosenbaum wrote twelve million.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWelling wrote one trillion, and later said he meant worldwide.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI think a trillion is a bold reading of the audience.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe correct answer was eight point four million, which Tom would call a soft launch.
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- Ancient fungal family traced to Asia, eight new species named · Bioengineer.org
- Paris protests turn chaotic; spider-killer fungi found in China · Bioengineer.org
- Smallville at 25: Welling and Rosenbaum look back (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · the Pop Culture archive · all months


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