The CW has announced two new series regulars for their upcoming Cress Williams-led DC Comics TV series Black Lightning.
James Remar (Dexter) has signed on to portray Jefferson Pierce's oldest friend, Peter Gambi, who also fulfills the roles of a father figure, mentor, and tailor. The character description teases that his history with Jefferson goes back farther and deeper than anyone knows and that his role in Jefferson’s life will ultimately become a painful window into the past that will affect the future of their relationship forever.
Meanwhile, Damon Gupton (Criminal Minds) has joined the cast as Inspector Henderson, a veteran officer of the law who is now the highest-ranking detective on the force. His job, as well as his role in the community, will often put him at odds with the superhero Black Lightning. However, as fate would have it, due to the rising gang violence, the pair will be forced to become unlikely allies.
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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.
Black Lightning features:
Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning
China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce
Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce
Christine Adams as Lynn Pierce
James Remar as Peter Gambi
Damon Gupton as Henderson
Black Lightning premieres midseason 2018