Black Lightning is headed to the nation’s capital on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The trailblazing superhero—the first black DC Comics character to have his own stand-alone comic title—will have his own TV series in 2018, but some fans can catch the premiere on Jan. 13 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
In the upcoming series, Cress Williams plays Jefferson Pierce, a high school principal with the power to harness and control electricity who has shelved his Black Lightning costume after seeing the toll his superhero persona took on his family. Nine years out of the game, Pierce’s hand is forced when a local gang, the One Hundred, threatens those he loves—pushing Pierce to tap into his superpowers once again.
Williams (Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights) will attend the Smithsonian premiere, alongside his co-stars China Anne McClain (House of Payne), Nafessa Williams (Twin Peaks), Christine Adams (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Marvin “Krondon” Jones III (Harry’s Law), Damon Gupton (Bates Motel, Criminal Minds) and James Remar (Gotham, Sex and the City).
Executive producers Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil (Being Mary Jane, The Game, Girlfriends) will also join the cast for a Q&A session following the invite-only premiere.
The special premiere of the 13-episode series, which is set to broadcast on the CW starting Jan. 16, is part of Warner Bros. “DC in D.C.” weekend, which also includes a showing of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, a steampunk take on Batman.