All good things come to an end, they say, and it looks like it’s Black Lightning’s turn to fade into the night.
The CW confirmed via press release Friday that the show—which was the first DC superhero series with a Black lead—will end after its upcoming fourth season, which will premiere early next year.
Based on the DC character of the same name, Black Lightning told the story of Jefferson Pierce (played by Cress Williams), a high school principal, former Olympic athlete and father of two who uses his supernatural abilities to sense and harness electricity to protect his hometown of Freeland. As it turns out, Pierce’s daughters also have uncanny, superhuman abilities—making for some complicated family dynamics.
“When we first started the Black Lighting journey, I knew that Jefferson Pierce and his family of powerful Black women would be a unique addition to the superhero genre,” series developer and executive producer Salim Akil said in a statement. “The love that Blerds and all comic book fans around the globe have shown this series over the past three seasons proved what we imagined, Black people want to see themselves in all their complexities.”
Akil also thanked the “phenomenal” cast, writers and crew of the groundbreaking series.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve been able to do and the moments we’ve been able to create in bringing DC’s first African-American family of superheroes to life for the culture.”
Fans of the show need not despair after the series finale, however. A spinoff series, Painkiller, also directed, written and executive produced by Salim Akil, will air its pilot episode during the final season of Black Lightning. Starring in the new series will be the horrendously good-looking Jordan Calloway, a man whose jawline is so sharp you could carve a Thanksgiving turkey with it—which has to be its own sort of superhuman gift.