Black Lightning (TV Series)
From Iwe
| 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.
Contents |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Timeslot (EST) | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
Broadcast
Home media
Reception
Ratings
Critical response
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|
Connection to the Arrowverse
Further information: Arrowverse
Notes
References
External links
Template:Black Lightning Template:Mara Brock Akil Template:The CW Programming Template:DC Comics TV
