‘Black Lightning’ Picked Up To Series; Stars China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams React

The CW has officially ordered “Black Lightning” to series, and its stars China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams couldn’t be more thrilled with the news.

McClain and Williams, who play siblings on the show, both took to social media to express their excitement about the series pickup. See their Twitter and Instagram posts below:

The series — which hails from Arrowverse executive producer Greg Berlanti as well as “The Game” and “Being Mary Jane” creator Mara Brock Akil and her husband Salim Akil — revolves around father-of-two Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), who retired from his superhero gig as Black Lightning years ago. But Jeffereson is forced to return to his vigilante ways when one of his daughters becomes hell-bent on justice, and the other is being recruited by a local gang.

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McClain and Williams play Jefferson’s daughters, Jennifer (Lightning) and Anissa (Thunder), respectively. Christine Adams, meanwhile, portrays Lynn Pierce, the siblings’ mom and Jefferson’s former wife.

In a statement obtained by TVLine last March, Salim Akil — who penned the series’ pilot with Mara Brock Akil — shared why “Black Lightning” is special to him.

“I knew way too much about the world as a young boy growing up in Richmond, California,” Salim Akil said. “I was no stranger to violence, death, hopelessness or the feeling that no one cared about what was happening in my life. Comics were a great way for me to escape. I was about 13 when Black Lightning was created, and finally there was a Black Super Hero that gave a damn about our neighborhood and our lives.”

“Resurrecting him at a time in our society when a sense of hope is lacking … Black Lightning will be that hope,” he continued. “And in updating [Black Lightning’s] suit, it will signal to a new generation that it’s time to harness and release our power, and become our own superheroes.”

Warner Bros. Television began pitching “Black Lightning” to networks in September 2016. In January this year, the project landed at FOX with a pilot production commitment. But a month after, Deadline broke the news that the network opted not to go forward with the project, ultimately deciding that it was “not a good fit into its already crowded genre drama space.”

After shopping the project to other networks, “Black Lightning” found a new home on The CW. Since the original pilot script was written for FOX, The CW opted to disregard it and shoot a short presentation instead.

Before FOX let go of the project, Berlanti said that “Black Lightning” will remain separate from Arrowverse. “I don’t think so,” Berlanti said (via Comic Book Resources) when asked if “Black Lightning” would be included in future crossover events between “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl” and “Legends of Tomorrow.” “If we’re lucky enough that that exists, that that show exists, I don’t think those worlds will cross over.”

But now that “Black Lightning” has been officially picked up to series at The CW, it won’t be surprising if the series ends up being part of a future crossover in the Arrowverse.

Will you be watching “Black Lightning”? Drop a comment below!