The CW's Black Lightning will end its run with Season 4.
"When we first started the Black Lighting journey, I knew that Jefferson Pierce and his family of powerful Black Women would be a unique addition to the super hero genre," series developer and executive producer Salim Akil said in a statement. "The love that Blerds and all comic book fans around the globe have shown this series over the past three seasons proved what we imagined, Black People Want To See Themselves in all their complexities."
"Thank you to the phenomenal cast, writers and crew without whom none of this would've been possible," Akil continued. "I'm incredibly proud of the work we've been able to do and the moments we've been able to create in bringing DC's first African-American family of super heroes to life for the culture. I'm very grateful to Peter Roth, Warner Bros. TV, Mark Pedowitz, The CW Network and Greg Berlanti for their partnership and support of my vision at every step of this journey. While Season Four may be the end of one journey, I'm extremely excited to usher in a new chapter and continued collaboration with The CW as we tell the story of Painkiller."
Black Lightning stars Cress Williams, a high school teacher and principal at Garfield High School in Freeland. After retiring to help guide the next generation of Black youths, Jefferson dons his Black Lightning superhero attire once again when the drugs pushed by The 100 gang starts to trickle into Garfield. With the help of his trusted confidant Peter Gambi (James Remar), Black Lightning once again protects the citizens of Freeland.
Over the course of its three seasons, Black Lightning has seen Jefferson's oldest daughter, Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) become a vigilante superhero named Thunder/Blackbird, and his youngest daughter Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain) display metahuman powers as well. The series has introduced DC characters such as the villains Tobias Whale (Marvin "Krondon" Jones), Lady Eve (Jill Scott) and Gravedigger (Wayne Brady), along with Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) and Painkiller (Jordan Calloway).
The CW recently announced Calloway's Painkiller will star in a spinoff of Black Lightning, which follows Khalil Payne to Akashic Valley in order to find peace. The series description reads, "As his violent, destructive history crashes his idyllic new beginning, Khalil is thrust back into action with a new mission -- bring justice where he once gave out punishment -- but to do that, he will first have to deal with and harness his darker side."
Black Lightning stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning, China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce, Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce/Thunder, Christine Adams as Lynn Stewart, Marvin "Krondon" Jones III as Tobias Whale and James Remar as Peter Gambi. The fourth and final season premieres Feb. 8, 2021 on The CW.
Source: Variety