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.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Premise
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.
Black Show Video
Cast and characters
Main
- Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning: A retired superhero with the ability to harness and control electricity who works as a principal at Garfield High School. He returns to fighting crime after his daughters are kidnapped by a local gang.
- 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.
- Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce / Thunder: Jefferson's elder daughter who is in medical school and teaches part-time at Jefferson's school. She is a metahuman like her father, and eventually fights crime as Thunder. 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: 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 Gang.
- 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.
- James Remar as Peter Gambi: Jefferson's oldest friend who became a father figure and mentor to him, and works as his "tailor".
Recurring
- Kyanna Simone Simpson as Kiesha Henderson: Jennifer Pierce's best friend and the daughter of Henderson, who encourages Jennifer to challenge her perfect image.
- Skye P. Marshall as Kara Fowdy: Garfield High's vice principal.
- Charlbi Dean as Syonide: Tobias Whale's henchwoman and enforcer.
- Jordan Calloway as Khalil Payne: A track star at Garfield High and Jennifer's boyfriend.
- Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi: A bartender who becomes Anissa's girlfriend.
- Jill Scott as Lady Eve: The owner of a funeral parlor who connects Tobias Whale with a secret group of corrupt leaders that gave him leadership over the 100.
- Edwina Findley as Tori Whale: Tobias Whale's younger sister who assists in his plot to destroy Black Lightning.
Guest
- Eric Mendenhall as Joey Toledo: Tobias Whale's right-hand man and enforcer.
- Antonio Fargas as David Poe: The editor of the "Freeland Gazette."
Episodes
Production
Development
In September 2016, after being in various stages of development, Warner Bros. Television began pitching Black Lightning to networks. The project was being developed by Mara Brock Akil and her husband, Salim Akil. They were partnered with Greg Berlanti, who was behind several DC Comics properties for the studio, eventually landing at Fox with a pilot production commitment. In February 2017, Fox opted not to go forward with the project, deciding that it was "not a good fit into its already crowded genre drama space". Warner Bros. Television presented the project to other networks, with The CW officially ordering a pilot for Black Lightning. The CW also opted to discard the original pilot script, as it had been written for Fox, and shoot a short presentation instead. The CW officially ordered Black Lightning to series on May 10, 2017.
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
In late February 2017, Cress Williams was cast as Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, followed a month later by the casting of China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams as his daughters, Jennifer Pierce and Anissa Pierce, respectively, and Christine Adams was cast as Lynn Pierce, Jefferson's ex-wife. At the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was announced that James Remar and Damon Gupton had joined the cast as Pierce's friend Peter Gambi and detective inspector Henderson, respectively. The following month, Marvin "Krondon" Jones III of the hip hop group Strong Arm Steady was cast as Tobias Whale.
At the end of September 2017, Kyanna Simone Simpson was cast as the recurring role Kiesha. The following month, Edwina Findley joined the cast as Tori Whale, while Chantal Thuy was cast as Grace Choi. In January 2018, it was revealed that Skye Marshall had been cast as Mrs. Frowdy.
Design
Black Lightning's costume was designed by Laura Jean Shannon.
Filming
Filming for the series takes place in Atlanta.
Broadcast
Black Lightning began airing on The CW on January 16, 2018, and is set to run for 13 episodes. In the United Kingdom, the series airs on Netflix.
Reception
Ratings
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Season 1 has received a 100% approval rating, with an average rating of 8.4/10, based on 49 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Black Lightning doesn't reinvent superhero TV, but it does give the genre a necessary jolt with real-world plots, scary new villains, and a star-making performance from Cress Williams." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Daniel Fienberg, in a review for The Hollywood Reporter, praised the series for being "smart and relevant and full of an attitude that's all its own." The portrayal of Anissa Pierce as Thunder has received praise for making television history as the first black lesbian superhero.
Connection to the Arrowverse
Despite airing on The CW and being created by Berlanti, Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW said in May 2017 that the series "at this time, is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation." Berlanti had previously stated when the series was in development at Fox that it would not crossover with his other DC Comics television properties on The CW nor would it exist in the Arrowverse. However, Akil later stated that they were not ruling out eventual crossovers. In August 2017, Pedowitz added, "If [the showrunners] wish to bring it in, that is their call. We had a long discussion with the studio, Mara, Salim, and myself. We were fine with them making it separate from the Arrowverse, they have a different point of view. If they end up wanting to go that way, that will be their decision."
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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