Black Lightning

We’re hard-pressed to imagine The CW adding yet a fifth DC superhero to its airwaves, but the FOX-transplanted Black Lightning is nonetheless ready to strike. See for yourself in the first official production photo, as Hart of Dixie alum Cress Wiliams suits up in an electrifying costume.

Hard as it is to imagine yet a fifth DC drama joining the CW ranks, Black Lightning continues to strike. Following the addition of Cress Williams as title hero Jefferson Pierce, the new super-pilot has cast the character’s comic daughters as well, adding Nafessa Williams and China Anne McClain as Anissa and Jennifer.

It’s official: The CW has been struck by lightning. After absorbing FOX’s Black Lightning pilot, the new DC drama from Arrow-verse architect Greg Berlanti will return Hart of Dixie alum Cress Williams to The CW as its superhero series’ title character.

There’s no guarantee DC’s Black Lightning will move forward as a series, even after The CW rescued it from FOX, but it looks like a pilot is nonetheless gearing up. New reports suggest the Greg Berlanti drama is preparing to cast its core players, offering descriptions of the Idris Elba-type to fill the title role, and more.

Regardless of network, any DC drama populating the airwaves will inevitably draw questions of a move or crossover with The CW multiverse. Case in point, FOX’s Black Lightning previously sought to keep separate from the other series, but now may end up on The CW regardless, and with a pilot order at that.

DC fans knew that FOX’s Gotham was unlikely to meet up with the CW heroes of Arrow or The Flash, though the latter’s visit to CBS’ Supergirl at least raised hope that FOX’s upcoming Black Lightning could join the next big crossover. Not so, it seems as DC TV boss Greg Berlanti seems to think FOX’s newest superhero will stand on his own for now.

The CW has enough superheroes for one lifetime, between Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, to say nothing of DC outliers like FOX’s Gotham. Well, get ready for another superhero (or villain?) to join the ranks in 2017, as those in the know say there’s another DC TV series on the way

The moment DC TV power-player Greg Berlanti had in mind to develop Black Lightning as its own series, we knew it’d move fast. So it is, that FOX has nabbed the new DC drama, with a pilot production commitment for the future.

Just when you thought The CW might be on the verge of fully transforming into a DC lineup, Black Lightning brings that possibility one step closer. One of the minds behind Arrow and The Flash is developing the famous African-American superhero into his own series, with pitches already out to networks.

If you're the kind of person who keeps an eye on Amazon to see what paperbacks and hardcovers are coming out before they get their official solicitations, then you might have noticed that DC has a collection of the original 1977 Black Lightning series on the schedule for next spring. And, if you're the kind of person who's been keeping up with Tony Isabella, the writer who originated Black Lightning (with artistic input from Trevor von Eden, Bob Rozakis and Joe Orlando), that might be a little surprising. Isabella has had a pretty rocky relationship with DC over the past twenty years, and a big sticking point has been the lack of a reprint for either the original series or Isabella's return to the character in the mid-'90s. Now it seems like things are starting to work out. In response to the announcement of the paperback, Isabella has written about recent interactions with DC, and refers to their discussions as "a good start."