Season 4 of The CW’s superhero adventure series ‘Black Lightning’ finally has a release date and it is much sooner than you expect!
Based on a superhero comic character of the same name by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, ‘Black Lightning’ is an action drama show that first premiered on television in 2018. It was originally developed for Fox before ultimately being picked up by The CW with an order for a new pilot script. Developed by Salim Akil, the show consists of a predominantly African-American writing staff. Its representation of the Black culture and LGBTQAI community has been commended by critics and viewers worldwide. ‘Black Lightning’ has been met with favourable reviews from critics all over. Its popularity has prompted the network to develop a spin-off with ‘Painkiller’. In January 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth instalment which would serve as the penultimate season. It was eventually announced that the upcoming season would be releasing on February 8th, 2021.
Highlights —
- ‘Black Lightning’: The metahuman vigilante of colour
- Here’s what the season 4 trailer looks like!
- What will the final season look like?
‘Black Lightning’: The metahuman vigilante of colour
The show centres around Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), the head of Garfield High School in the city of Freeland, Georgia. Nine years prior, he was a superhuman called ‘Black Lightning’ until he decided to leave that life behind, seeing its impact on his ex Lynn Stewart and his girls Anissa and Jennifer.

Jefferson is compelled to become ‘Black Lightning’ again when The 100, Freeland’s most dreaded group of hoodlums, driven by Tobias Whale, begin assuming control over the city. Black Lightning’s return happens when his little girls Anissa and Jennifer are caught by people related to Latavius “Lala” Jackson. After the occurrence, Anissa begins working on her powers and becomes Thunder while Jennifer begins developing her own electrical abilities.
The show has earned rave reviews for its celebration of the Black community and its portrayal of the struggles of Black families.
Here’s what the trailer for season 4 looks like!
According to the official synopsis of season 4 of the series:
“Jefferson Pierce is still mourning the death of his long-time friend Detective Henderson. Meanwhile, Gambi (James Remar) is presented with an interesting opportunity. Lastly, Lynn (Christine Adams) and Jefferson are still not able to see eye to eye.”
The trailer of the upcoming season is out and shows Jefferson saying that Black Lightning is dead and all that remains is a man trying to save his family. It also features Lightning (China Anne McClain) and Thunder (Nafessa Williams) in their respective costumes, fighting villains in Freeland. This season’s main antagonist, Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III), is only shown for a second in the trailer, thus, keeping the character’s storyline a mystery.
What will the final season look like?
The season is set to release on February 8th and will have emotions running high and a range of crazy action sequences. In a recent interview, Cress Williams has explained the need to address the impact of Henderson’s death at the end of season 3. He said,
“Because real life, you lose people like that, it’s not something that just goes away. It is something that affects you and carries through. My guess, if I was going to be writing it, is that I think it would make Jefferson even more cautious and scared of anybody else doing this stuff, his daughters included. I think he’d be a lot more, I would hope, more cautious, and almost that would be kind of a hurdle to get over in the next season, that he’s almost too cautious because he lost someone”.
The season will also focus on Jefferson’s involvement in the boarding school for metahumans for which congressional approval was given to Dr Stewart. The Pierce family dynamics will once again take centre stage as Lynn’s drug problem will come out in the open. Enemies Tobias Whale and Gravedigger will also play a major part in the upcoming season.
It is a bittersweet moment for fans as the powerful series is coming to an end and everyone will surely miss seeing this iconic character on screen.
Did you watch season 3 of ‘Black Lightning’? Are you excited for the upcoming season? Tell us in the comments below.
