The first season of the American television series Black Lightning, which is based on the DC Comics character Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, premiered on The CW on January 16, 2018, and ran for 13 episodes until April 17, 2018. The season was produced by Berlanti Productions, Akil Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment. It was ordered in May 2017 and production began that September, with Salim Akil serving as showrunner.
The season introduces Jefferson Pierce, a high school principal who retired from his superhero identity Black Lightning nine years prior after seeing the effects it had on his family, as he is forced to become a hero again when the rise of the local gang called The 100 leads to increased crime and corruption in his community of Freeland. Cress Williams stars as Jefferson, along with principal cast members China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin "Krondon" Jones III, Damon Gupton, and James Remar.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main 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 Damon Gupton as Billy Henderson James Remar as Peter Gambi
Recurring
Dabier as Will Skye P. Marshall as Kara Fowdy Will Catlett as Latavius "Lala" Johnson / Tattoo Man Charlbi Dean as Syonide Eric Mendenhall as Joey Toledo Kyanna Simone Simpson as Kiesha Caleb Thomas as Malik Amanda Davis as Joan Lincoln Jordan Calloway as Khalil Payne / Painkiller Tracey Bonner as Lawanda White Anthony Reynolds as Deputy Chief Zeke Cayman Jill Scott as Evelyn Stillwater-Ferguson / Lady Eve Edwina Findley as Tori Whale Gregg Henry as Martin Proctor
Guest
Roland S. Martin as himself Senator Nina Turner as herself Fallyn Brown as young Jennifer Pierce Clifton Powell as Reverend Jeremiah Holt Shein Mompremier as Chenoa Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi Jason Louder as Frank "Two-Bits" Tanner Yolanda T. Ross as Nichelle Payne Antonio Fargas as David Poe Keith Arthur Bolden as Alvin Pierce Kaden Washington Lewis as young Jefferson Pierce
Production Development In September 2016, after going through several incarnations and various stages of development for over a year, Mara Brock Akil, her husband Salim Akil, and perennial Warner Bros. Television producer Greg Berlanti began pitching Black Lightning to television networks. The Akils wrote the script while serving as executive producers alongside Berlanti and his frequent collaborator Sarah Schechter. A week later, the project landed at Fox with a pilot production commitment. In February 2017, Fox opted to not go forward with the pilot, deciding that it was "not a good fit into its already crowded genre drama space" and the project was subsequently shopped to other networks. As the home to several of Berlanti's other television ventures, The CW emerged as the network that was likely to realize the series. The following day, The CW officially ordered a pilot for Black Lightning. The original pilot script that had been written for Fox was discarded and instead, a short presentation was shot ahead of the network's final decisions regarding pickup orders. The CW officially ordered Black Lightning to series on May 10, 2017, with Salim Akil to serve as showrunner. On April 2, 2018, a month after production on the first season had concluded, The CW renewed the series for a second season.
Writing In writing the first season, Salim Akil stated that he was most inspired by the original run of Black Lightning comic books and that Black Lightning being a black father who defies the "deadbeat stereotype" was part of the reason for the Akil's wanting to tell his story. "That image of a father saving his daughters, protecting his family, protecting his school, protecting his community, it is happening, but it's not the narrative [on most shows and movies]," said Mara Brock Akil. Salim Akil added, "Jefferson Pierce is the epitome of what black men are: He loves his wife, his children, and the community." He described Jefferson and his family as "the Obamas of the superhero world" and commented that "[t]heir powers, like their race, is only part of who they are." Black Lightning utilizes a predominantly African-American writing staff to have an "authentic black voice" to support its setting and characters. Salim Akil shared that the writers are not all African-American but "have either lived this life or know someone who has." The cast additionally serve to maximize the series' authenticity because, according to the showrunner, "They know what the language feels like in their own community."
Showrunner Akil compared the duality of Jefferson Pierce and his alter ego Black Lightning to the duality of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. He said that Jefferson takes after King, where he "would prefer to educate and to love and to be peaceful, but [he understands] that there's a different side." The Black Lightning side of him, in turn, favors the philosophies of Malcolm X, and believes that, "There are some things that I have to do and react to in a way that I'm not going to turn the other cheek." As a character-driven family drama, Salim Akil revealed that Black Lightning would not follow the villain of the week format typical of many superhero television series because he wanted "to explore the characters, even the villains" and felt that "one of the most interesting characters right now from a storytelling standpoint is Tobias [Whale]. His hatred for himself and for others comes from a real place, so we want to know why he's like that." Discussing the character Anissa Pierce, Black Lightning's daughter and the first black lesbian superhero on television, the Akils indicated that the writers would not be treating LGBTQ representation as a "special issue" but that such characters would be included and depicted "the way anyone would be included in life."
Salim Akil noted that topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and other issues concerning race relations and police brutality would be addressed, but stressed that, "This is an American story, this is not a black story. We're going to be culturally specific, but universal in our themes so everyone can see themselves in these stories." He further explained, "I didn't want to be too fantastical because so many people out there are suffering and I felt like they needed a hero," on the decision to incorporate real-life societal issues into the narrative. Akil emphasized his desire for the audience "to be concerned about what's going on [in African-American communities.] I wanted people in those areas to feel like there was someone who was thinking about them and so I wanted the show to reflect that." Salim Akil likened the narrative of the first season to the story of the Tuskegee experiment. "What I wanted to do was have an arc about black male paranoia and African-American paranoia. So we start in the black community, fighting the gangs. And then this drug is introduced, and everyone's questioning where the drug comes from, and we start to follow the trail of where it comes from [...] and see oh, this stuff isn't coming from the low-level gang members."
Casting On February 24, 2017, Cress Williams was announced in the lead role of Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning. On March 2, China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams were cast as Jefferson's daughters, Jennifer Pierce and Anissa Pierce, respectively. Later that same month on March 10, it was reported that Christine Adams has been cast as Lynn Stewart, Jefferson's ex-wife. At the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, it was revealed that James Remar and Damon Gupton had joined the main cast as Jefferson's oldest friend Peter Gambi and unlikely ally Inspector William "Bill" Henderson, respectively. On August 10, rapper Marvin "Krondon" Jones III was added as a series regular, landing the role of main antagonist Tobias Whale.
On September 26, 2017, it was announced that Kyanna Simone Simpson would recur as Kiesha, Henderson's daughter and Jennifer's best friend. On October 5, it was reported that Jill Scott had been cast as Lady Eve. Later that month on October 12, Edwina Findley also joined the cast in a recurring capacity as Tori Whale, Tobias' younger sister. Chantal Thuy was added to the recurring cast as Grace Choi that same month on October 30, though she ultimately appeared in only two episodes of the series' first season. On December 14, Shein Mompremier was reportedly cast as Chenoa. On January 16, 2018, it was revealed that Skye P. Marshall had been cast in a recurring role as Ms. Fowdy, the vice principal of Garfield High School.
Design Black Lightning's costume was designed by Laura Jean Shannon. While the suit's design is meant to invoke protection from the character's vulnerabilities such as his age, and bullets in particular, Salim Akil stated that there were "a lot of iterations" of the Black Lightning costume, and that "at one point I had covered his face and his eyes, but what was more important to me was the emotion, and you need to see that. You need to see his eyes when his daughters have a gun pointed at them." A number of journalists noted similarities between the first superhero costume donned by Anissa Pierce, featuring a pink, purple, and blue color scheme with gold and black accents and a blonde wig, and the Thunder costume of the 2003 Outsiders comic book run. Shannon also designed the final Thunder costume, which was made from a sculpted armor material to stretch to the performer's comfort and serves as an homage to the most recent costume worn by Thunder in the comic books.
Filming Filming for the short presentation that was given to The CW took place in March 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Instead of a full traditional pilot, only about three to nine minutes of footage was used for the eight-to-twelve minute presentation, which was later cut into the series' first trailer. Production for the season officially began on September 7, 2017, in Atlanta. Filming for the first season concluded on March 3, 2018.
Music As the music supervisor for Black Lightning, Kier Lehman selected the season's featured songs along with the Akils. Kurt Farquhar composed the score for the season, which he created by "combining elements of trap hip-hop, orchestral scoring, and a liberal use of live voice." The rapper Godholly, who is the son of showrunner Salim Akil, provided original music for the season, including tracks such as "Black Lightning" from the main title sequence. Following the series premiere, the tracks "Black Lightning" and "Power" from Godholly were made available on iTunes, Amazon, and other digital music sites. Additional songs created for the season by Godholly include "Welcome to Freeland" from the second episode, "Green Light" from the fourth episode, "Can't Go" from the eighth episode, and "Thunder" from the ninth episode.
Release +Home media releases for Black Lightning, season 1 Episodes Originally aired DVD and Blu-ray release dates First aired Last aired Timeslot (EST) Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 13 Tuesday 9:00pm
Broadcast Black Lightning began airing on The CW in the United States as a mid-season entry on January 16, 2018, during the 2017–18 television season. The first season, consisting of 13 episodes, aired on Tuesdays at 9:00pm following The Flash and concluded its run on April 17, 2018.
Home media Having acquired the international distribution and streaming rights for Black Lightning, Netflix aired new episodes of the season weekly in regions outside of the United States, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The season was released in its entirety on Netflix in the United States on April 25, 2018, one week after the season finale aired on The CW.