Black Lightning may not be a proper part of the CW’s superhero universe, but it remains one of the most important shows on the network—and one of Den of Geek’s Best New Shows of 2018. Which is why it’s such good news that Black Lightning has already been renewed for a Season 3!
Black Lightning, which stars Cress Williams as the eponymous superhero working to help the people of Freeland as both a vigilante and an educator, just wrapped up its second season.
The news of a Black Lightning season 3 was announced at January’s bi-annual Television Critics Association, along with the renewal of nine other shows, including The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. (Hopefully, this means we’ll be getting even more crossover events past Crisis on Infinite Earths!) And, yes, we know what you’re wondering: Supernatural was renewed for a Season 15.
“This season, we expanded our primetime schedule to six nights with the addition of Sunday — which has been an unqualified success for the network, our affiliates and our advertisers,” said CW president Mark Pedowitz.
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read more: Crisis On Infinite Earths — What to Expect From the Crossover
He continued: “In addition to growing our schedule across the week, we also continue to add more year-round programming. The early renewal of these signature CW series gives us a head start on laying out the 2019-2020 season, and this is just the beginning. These shows provide a strong foundation for our multiplatform programming strategy, and we look forward to building on this with even more returning and new shows as we approach the May upfront.”
Black Lightning Season 3 Release Date
Black Lightning season 3 will premiere in Fall 2019 on Monday nights at 9pm ET, where it will be paired with All American, which is back for a second season. The official Black Lightning season 3 premiere date is Oct. 21.
Black Lightning Season 3 Cast
Presumably, the main crew will be back for Season 3, including Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, China Anne McClain as Jennifer, Nafessa Williams as Anissa, Christine Adams as Lynn, Marvin Jones III as Tobias, Damon Gupton as Inspector Henderson, and James Remar as Gambi. We’d love to see Chantal Thuy (aka Grace) upped to a series regular in Season 3.
Black Lightning Season 3 Story Details
We’ve got an official synopsis for Black Lightning Season 3. Check it out:
Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man with many faces. He is a former Olympic athlete, respected educator and a father of two. He is also Black Lightning, superpowered protector of the fictional city of Freeland with the ability to sense and harness electricity.
Jefferson is not the only one with powers and multiple faces. His oldest daughter, Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) is a medical student, health clinic volunteer and dedicated social activist. She is also the super hero known as Thunder who possesses the ability to drastically increase her density, giving her invulnerability and super strength for as long as she can hold her breath.
Finally, Jefferson’s youngest daughter, Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain), is a fiery teen who inherited her father’s athletic gifts but not his desire to be an athlete. Jennifer also inherited super powers. Her body generates pure electrical energy and she possesses the potential to be more powerful than Anissa or Jefferson and is known as Lightning.
Lynn Stewart (Christine Adams) is Jefferson’s ex-wife but they are still very much in love in addition to sharing the load as co-parents. She’s also an expert in metahuman medicine. Together, the Pierce family faces the challenges of a declined urban community, including a menacing gang that calls itself The 100 and infamous gangster, Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III). Worse, Freeland has been plagued by government-sponsored experiments and drug trafficking that have created metahumans and addicts while making Freeland a target of a dangerous foreign power, Markovia.
Fortunately, the family has allies in their fight, Jefferson’s surrogate father and a former covert superspy, Peter Gambi (James Remar), as well as Jefferson’s friend and neighbor, the committed and scrupulously honest Deputy Police Chief Henderson (Damon Gupton).
More news on Black Lightning Season 3 as we hear it.
Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.