As was confirmed in the earlier release ofThe CW’s upcoming TV schedule,Black Lightningwill be making its debut in the midseason. This is the last of the major TV networks releasing their schedules, followingFox,ABC,Turner, andCBS, which also released early looks at new series thanks to abunchoftrailers. Not to be outdone,The CW has also released their own trailers, including the very first incredible look atBlack Lightning.
This thing comes out blazing. It’s not afraid to jump straight into shots of a costumed crime-fighter battling bad guys with the help of a super-suit that helps him to control electricity. However,Black Lightningchanges up the sub-genre by focusing on a superhero wrestling with the decision to come out of retirement. That’s key to understanding the main character, as played byCress Williams. There’s also a focus on family here, a staple in CW programming, but what’s interesting is that Jefferson Pierce’s daughters might just have some superpowers of their own. And whileBlack Lightningis certainly shaping up to be one of my favorite new debuts of the upcoming season, don’t get your hopes up for anyArrow-verse crossovers as this will be its own separate entity.
Check out the first trailer forBlack Lightningbelow:
Here’s the new and improved official synopsis forBlack Lightning:
BLACK LIGHTNING –– Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community.
Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered.
Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
Based on the characters from DC, BLACK LIGHTNING is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash”), Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil (“Being Mary Jane,” “The Game,” “Girlfriends”), and Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “The Flash”). The Black Lightning character was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden.
For more onBlack Lightning, be sure to check out our recent write-ups below:
