Smallville season 8

The eighth season of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on September 18, 2008 on The CW. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The eighth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 14, 2009. Regular cast members during season eight include Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, and Aaron Ashmore, along with new series regulars Cassidy Freeman, Sam Witwer, and Justin Hartley, the latter previously featured as a guest star in seasons six and seven.

This season focuses on Clark (Welling) as he starts his job at the Daily Planet, begins to accept more of his destiny as Earth's hero, and develops romantic feelings for Lois Lane (Durance). While Lex Luthor is presumed dead and Lana Lang has left Smallville for good, Clark meets new characters Davis Bloome (Witwer), Smallville's interpretation of Doomsday, as well as the new CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess Mercer (Freeman). In other storylines, Clark and Oliver Queen (Hartley) clash over how to handle Lex when he resurfaces, while Chloe Sullivan (Mack) and Jimmy Olsen (Ashmore) take their relationship to the next level. In addition, this season sees the appearance of more DC Comics characters, including Toyman, Bruno Mannheim, and Zatanna, with recurring appearances from Plastique and members of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Following the end of season seven, Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum, who portrayed Lana and Lex since the pilot episode, did not return as regulars for the eighth season, though Kreuk did return as a recurring guest to conclude Lana's story. Laura Vandervoort and John Glover also departed the series after season seven; Glover's character Lionel Luthor was killed off while Vandervoort was written out of the series after one season but made one guest appearance in this season. Gough and Millar also departed the series, allowing Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin, and Darren Swimmer to continue as executive producers. This allowed the series to "reinvigorate" itself by introducing new characters and storylines, as well as developing Clark's understanding of his destiny.

Averaging 3.74 million viewers per episode, the season out-ranked other high-profile shows on the network, such as Reaper and Gossip Girl. It also received an Emmy Award nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category.