HIGHLIGHTS
Krypton starts Wednesday on Syfy
There'll be 10 episodes in season one
It centres on Superman's grandpa, Seg-El
A minute into the pilot episode of Krypton, when Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones) steps into the frame donning a blue suit and a red cape emblazoned with the iconic Superman logo, you could be forgiven for thinking he was playing an older version of the superhero. But this is not a show about Superman. In fact, this is not even a show about his father. Set on the titular planet two generations prior to its cataclysmic end and his birth, Krypton  – premièring Wednesday on Syfy, and available for purchase elsewhere – follows Superman's grandfather, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), in his twenties.

As such, Krypton demands a keen interest in Superman canon right from the start, like with the ongoing Supergirl  and Smallville before it, minus the expectations of watching someone fly and display superhuman strength. Instead, Krypton focuses on the politics being played by the great houses in the capital city of Kandor, and the lives of those caught up in that world, be it the ruling class living amongst the clouds, or the unfortunate – pejoratively termed "rankless" – that barely survive in the depths below, all the while grappling with the rise of a new theocratic ruler, the Voice of Rao.

McElhinney, who plays Seg's scientist grandfather Val-El, is an early victim of the new form of government, owing to his belief in extra-terrestrial life and the study of potential off-world threats despite the ruler's disapproval. For his actions, his family – the House of El – is stripped of its rank (and in turn, the iconic insignia), and Val is executed for treason. The story picks up fourteen years later with a grown-up Seg, who's scratching out a living fighting in bars. He's still got a friend or two in high places, including his lover Lyta Zod (Georgina Campbell, from Black Mirror), who serves in Kandor's militarised police force.