Black Lightning: 3 reasons we're excited for the series premiere

On Tuesday, The CW will air the series premiere of Black Lightning, the first black superhero show on the network, and here’s why you should be excited.

The CW is well-known for a lot of things, but most people probably know it as the home of the DC Comics TV shows that brings together the likes of Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and the Legends of Tomorrow on what is slowly becoming a regular basis. With its fair collection of faults and merits, the Arrowverse has its fans, myself included, but on the whole, contains four superhero shows that pretty much all look the same.

Outside of that — the Arrowverse and its fandom — lives Black Lightning. Set to premiere this Tuesday, Black Lightning is already being hailed as a compelling family drama and totally different kind of superhero show.

So, here are the top 3 reasons we’re excited about the Black Lightning premiere:

The compelling family drama

The DCTV shows have both family and drama in them, but don’t come across as “family dramas.” Arguably, Supergirl started that way in season 1 by focusing on the relationship between the Danvers sisters. But as of season 3, it’s written more like a teen romance drama that happens to have Supergirl in it.

In an interview with TVLine, Black Lightning star Cress Williams described the show as:

"Historical in every sense of the word. It’s historical for the network having a black-led show for the first time in its history. It’s historical because of the network’s first black superhero. It’s historical because there hasn’t been a ton of African-American family dramas. There’s a tons [sic] of comedies, but there hasn’t been a ton of dramas."

The CW has tight character writing (Jane the Virgin), but it hasn’t quite implemented this into its superhero shows. Hopefully, Black Lightning will correct this.

LGBTQ superheroes

Yes, we have Sara Lance. Yes, we have Alex Danvers. LGBTQ representation exists in the DCTV universe, but it’s not as visible as many fans would like.

Enter Thunder (Nafessa Williams), Black Lightning’s lesbian daughter who takes up the superhero mantel to help fight crime. Of the character’s sexuality and fans’ desperation for consistent representation, creator Salim Akil told The Hollywood Reporter:

"It’s crazy, right? I didn’t want it to be a ‘very special episode.’ We just open up on her in bed with her girlfriend and having a discussion not about her sexuality but about what are you going through? How are you feeling? I think it’s one of the most sophisticated and loving scenes we’ve done in this show."

Of course, it’s crazy. I don’t know why we can’t have #Supercorp or why #Sanvers fizzled out. I don’t know why we can’t have nice things, but I’m here for anything Black Lightning gives me.

Cohesive, thoughtful writing led by diverse writers and covering diverse topics

Unlike other DC shows, Black Lightning won’t operate on the villain-of-the-week formula. In THR, Akil also explained:

"We’re going to explore our villains and our good guys and we’re going to stew in that and really get to know them. I didn’t want to do a show where the villains were twirling their mustaches. I wanted you to understand how and why they were the way they were. That will be a big difference from what you may be expecting."

The goal of Black Lightning is to reflect “urban communities,” naturally. But as Akil also pointed out, “despite the recent wave of inclusive representation in the comic book genre with Netflix drama Luke Cage, Marvel feature Black Panther and the upcoming animated black Spider-Man, it has taken way too long for African-American viewers to see themselves as superheroes onscreen.”

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of every other superhero show shaking in their boots.

So, are you as excited about Black Lightning as we are? What are you excited about most?

Black Lightning premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

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Black Lightning: 3 reasons we’re excited for the series premiere

By Buckie Wells | Jan 14, 2018

On Tuesday, The CW will air the series premiere of Black Lightning, the first black superhero show on the network, and here’s why you should be excited.

The compelling family drama

LGBTQ superheroes

Cohesive, thoughtful writing led by diverse writers and covering diverse topics