In just around a month, Greg Berlanti will introduce a whole new kind of a superhero to The CW with Black Lightning, a series centered on the now-retired Jefferson Pierce, who has successfully transitioned away from his superhero days and is now enjoying life as a father of two loving daughters and as the principal of a charter high school. However, when crime and corruption began spreading in his city once more, threatening those closest to him, he'll be thrust back into the spotlight.
The CW has released a new poster for the upcoming series, featuring Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) front-and-center with his two daughters, Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain).
Check out the new poster below:
Plus, check out this new extended trailer:
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 January 16