Today, we have a separate DC TV Universe on The CW, comprising four different shows - Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl – that Greg Berlanti and his production have launched one after another in the past few years. And it appears that they have no intention of stopping their quest to come up with more new shows anytime soon!
According to a new report from Deadline, Berlanti Productions is developing yet another live-action television series based on a DC Comics superhero. And this time, the superhero who is getting a standalone series is an African-American one, who was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden almost four decades ago, Black Lightning!
Jefferson Pierce, aka Black Lightning, is one of the first major African-American superheroes in DC Comics who originally didn't have any innate powers. He was a skilled martial artist and Olympic level athlete, with a belt that helped him generate a force field and project electrical bolts. Later, he was introduced as a metahuman.
For the Black Lightning standalone series, Berlanti's production team has paired up with Being Mary Jane and The Game creator Mara Brock Akil and her husband Salim Akil. The Akils, along with Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, will serve as the executive producers.
According to the report, the team is currently pitching the show to networks, so we can't be sure if it will have connections to The CW's DC TV Universe. However, the outlet has managed to get their hands on a brief synopsis for the series:
Written by the Akils, Black Lightning centers on Jefferson Pierce. He made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with a daughter hell-bent on justice and a star student being recruited by a local gang, he'll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend Black Lightning.
