Originally published November 16, 2017. Updated November 21, 2019.
The CW has revealed the series premiere date for its latest DC Comics adaptation Black Lightning which is set to air on January 16th at 9PM, taking the place of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow which will be on a midseason break until February.
Presumably, Legends will then find itself in a new time slot upon its return, at which point – with Supergirl, The Flash and Arrow – The CW will have five DC superhero shows airing weekly.
SEE ALSO: Watch the trailer for Black Lightning here
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.
