Black Lightning (TV Series)

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Black Lightning

Genre	Superhero Drama
Based on	Black Lightning by Tony Isabella
Developed by	Salim Akil
Starring	Cress Williams China Anne McClain Nafessa Williams Christine Adams Marvin "Krondon" Jones III Damon Gupton James Remar
Opening theme	"Black Lightning" by Godholly
Composer(s)	Kurt Farquhar
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Sarah Schechter Greg Berlanti Mara Brock Akil Salim Akil Oz Scott Pascal Verschooris
Producer(s)	Robert West
Production location(s)	Atlanta, Georgia
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	Berlanti Productions Akil Productions DC Entertainment Warner Bros. Television
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Broadcast
Original network	The CW
Original release	January 16, 2018 – present
External links

Black Lightning is an American superhero television series developed by Salim Akil, airing on The CW. It is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by Tony Isabella. It stars Cress Williams as the titular character alongside China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin Jones III, Damon Gupton, and James Remar. The series sees the retired Black Lightning return to the hero life and its effects on his family life.

Development on the series began in September 2016 when Fox ordered a pilot production commitment for Black Lightning. In February 2017, Fox passed on the series, with it being picked up by The CW with a new script for the pilot. The CW officially ordered the series in May 2017. The first season premiered on January 16, 2018, for a 13-episode run. On April 2, 2018, The CW renewed the show for a second season, which is set to premiere on October 9, 2018.

Premise

High school principal Jefferson Pierce, who retired from his superhero persona Black Lightning nine years ago after seeing the effects it had on his family, is forced to become a vigilante again when the rise of the local gang called the 100 leads to increased crime and corruption in his community of Freeland.

Cast and characters

Main

Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning: A retired superhero with the ability to harness and manipulate electricity who works as a principal at Garfield High School. He returns to fighting crime after his daughters are kidnapped by a local gang. Kaden Washington Lewis portrays teenage Jefferson Pierce.
China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce: Jefferson's younger daughter, who is "an independent, outspoken scholar-athlete with a wild streak of her own", who also possesses powers where her cells start generating energy; her electric power is orange unlike her father's which is blue.
Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce / Thunder: Jefferson's elder daughter who is in medical school and teaches part-time at Jefferson's school. Anissa is a metahuman like her father, having an ability to manipulate her density with her breathing and emotions, endowing herself with superhuman strength and near invulnerablity. She can also create powerful shockwaves against opponents with this power during combat. In addition, she has an accelerated healing factor. She eventually fights crime as Thunder, and later becomes her father's protégée and partner. Describing her character as a positive role model, Williams said "I'm just really grateful to tell the story for young lesbians — and black lesbians in particular ... My hope is that when you watch Anissa, a young lesbian is inspired to walk boldly as who she is and to love herself and to love herself exactly how she looks."
Christine Adams as Lynn Stewart: A neuroscientist at Bowman College and Jefferson's ex-wife.
Marvin "Krondon" Jones III as Tobias Whale: A former politician who rose through the ranks of local government through corruption but was brought down by Jefferson's father, Alvin. After killing Alvin, Tobias was exiled and became the leader of the 100. Despite being Black Lightning's chief adversary and wants to kill him, Whale also becomes involved with the A.S.A.'s efforts to capture and study him.
Damon Gupton as Billy Henderson: A veteran detective inspector with the police who becomes an unlikely ally to Jefferson, despite his role in the community. After exposing the dirty Deputy Chief, Cayman, he is appointed to replace him.
James Remar as Peter Gambi: Jefferson's oldest friend who became a father figure and mentor to him and works as his "tailor" while having connections with Lady Eve. His real name is Peter Esposito and was a former member of the A.S.A. until he turned against the organization and gave information to Alvin Pierce, resulting in his murder.

Recurring

Guest

Episodes

Season 1 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Resurrection"	Salim Akil	Salim Akil	January 16, 2018	T43.10001	2.31
After his older daughter Anissa is arrested for protesting, high school principal and former superhero Jefferson Pierce is again pulled over for a crime he did not commit. The last straw comes when his youngest daughter, Jennifer, gets in trouble at a club owned by a gang called the "100" and he is forced to use his powers to rescue her. Peter Gambi, his mentor and friend, urges him to become Black Lightning again, but Jefferson refuses to break the promise he made to his ex-wife, Lynn, to give up heroics in hopes of reconciling with her. A 100 gangbanger named Will and his friends abduct Jennifer and Anissa despite an agreement between Jefferson and the gang. Lynn temporarily frees him from his promise in order to save their daughters. With Gambi's help, he rescues the girls from the 100 at the Seahorse Motel. However, he is unable to find Will's boss Lala. After being brought to the head of the 100, Tobias Whale, by his two underlings Syonide and Joey Toledo, Lala is instructed to kill Black Lightning. Anissa's trauma activates her own powers, causing her to break a sink in half.

Season 2

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)

Production

Development

Writing

Salim Akil stated that Black Lightning would not follow the villain of the week format or be a procedural, because he wanted to "explore the characters, even the villains".

Casting

Design

Filming

Music

Kurt Farquhar composes the soundtrack for the series while Godholly provides original music for the series. These tracks include "Black Lightning", "Power", "Green Light", "Welcome to Freeland", "Can't Go" and "Thunder".

Release

Season		Episodes	Originally aired			DVD and Blu-ray release dates
Season		Episodes	First aired	Last aired	Timeslot (EST)	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4

Broadcast

Home media

Reception

Ratings

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)

Critical response

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref.

Connection to the Arrowverse

Further information: Arrowverse

Notes

References

External links

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