BLACK LIGHTNING Set for Midseason Premiere on The CW; Full Synopsis Released

The CW has unveiled its schedule for the 2017-2018 television year. While most of the network’s DC offerings will return in the fall – with Arrow getting a new timeslot – the latest show will have to wait a little longer.

Black Lightning, from creators Salim & Mara Brock Akil and Greg Berlanti, is scheduled to premiere during midseason on The CW. It’s unknown how many episodes the season will consist of, but typically, The CW’s midseason shows have fewer episode orders than full season shows. Expect confirmation to come soon.

Additionally, The CW (via KSiteTV) has released a lengthy plot synopsis for Black Lightning. It expands on what we already knew – Jefferson Pierce has been retired as Black Lightning for a while, but to protect his daughters, he assumes the mantle once more. This synopsis adds a lot more detail, including the villainous forces Pierce will face. Check it out below, and stay tuned for more news as we have it.

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.