We are just 2 weeks away from the premiere of Black Lightning on The CW. On today's podcast, we look at what we know about the show and what we hope and expect to see from the first season.
* Created by Mara Brock and Salim Akil, who co-wrote the pilot; Salim directed the pilot; Greg Berlanti also an Executive Producer
* Series premiere date - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 9 p.m. on The CW
* Episode count - 13 for Season 1
* Connections to Arrowverse - currently not connected, although that could change eventually (“The storytelling is a little bit more political. It’s topical, and it’s a little grittier. … It doesn’t mean that down the road there won’t be visits,”)
* Synopsis from The CW - “Jefferson Pierce 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 and Jennifer grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn, 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.”
* Differences with other superhero shows - darker, older hero, not an origin, films in Atlanta
* Quotes from Salim Akil (IBTimes)
* Described the show as “a character-based family drama.”
“There’s certainly not going to be a villain of the week. I don’t want to do that. We really want to explore the characters, even the villains.”
Main Cast
Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning - DC Comics Characters 101)
Pierce family - daughters Anissa (Thunder) and Jennifer (Lightning), ex-wife Lynn
Peter Gambi and Henderson
Villains - Tobias Whale and The 100
Other DC Characters
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