Black Lightning season 4 explained

Season Number:	4
Bgcolour:	243251
Num Episodes:	13
Network:	The CW
Episode List:	List of Black Lightning episodes

The fourth and final season of the American television series Black Lightning, which is based on the DC Comics character Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, premiered on The CW on February 8, 2021. The season is produced by Berlanti Productions, Akil Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the franchise. The season was ordered in January 2020 and production began that October, with Salim Akil once again serving as showrunner.

The season continues to follow Jefferson, now a high school principal in his second stint as the superhero Black Lightning, as he fights against local corruption in his community of Freeland. Cress Williams stars as Jefferson, along with principal cast members China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Marvin "Krondon" Jones III, Christine Adams, Jordan Calloway, and James Remar also returning from previous seasons. Laura Kariuki replaces McClain as Jennifer Pierce starting with the fifth episode "The Book of Ruin: Chapter One: Picking Up the Pieces"; McClain, however, returns for the series finale.

Episodes

See also: List of Black Lightning episodes.

Cast and characters

See main article: List of Black Lightning characters.

Main

• Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning
• China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce / Lightning (episodes 1–4 & 13)
  • Laura Kariuki as The Ionosphere / Jennifer "JJ Stewart" Pierce / Lightning (episodes 5–13; recurring)
• Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce / Thunder / Blackbird
• Christine Adams as Lynn Stewart
• Marvin "Krondon" Jones III as Tobias Whale
  • Jordan Calloway as Khalil Payne / Painkiller Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi / Wylde
• James Remar as Peter Gambi

Recurring

• William Catlett as Latavius "Lala" Johnson
• Rafael Castillo as Devonte Jones
• Melissa De Sousa as Chief Ana Lopez
• Tommy Kane as John Webb
• Bethann Hardison as Dr. Bowlan
• Todd Anthony as Dr. Darius Morgan
• Kedrick Brown as Marcel Payton
• Jemarcus Kilgore as Montel
• Robert Tinsley as Homeless Mam
• Elena Varela as Lauren Caruso
• Wallace Smith as Detective Hassan Shakur
• Helen Joo Lee as Val Seong
• Matt Roszak as Red
• Christopher A'mmanuel as Baron / T.C.

Guest

• Reggie Hayes as Mayor Billy Black
• Jason Louder as Frank "Two-Bits" Tanner
• Teesha Renee as Destiny
• Veronika Rowe as Auntie Gina
• Renell Gibbs as Kyrie
• Kelvin Hair as Lydell Green
• Amanda Baker as Rebecca Larson
• Tre' Stokes as Terry Andrews
• Sh'Kia Augustin as the voice of Shonda
• Paden Fallis as Marshall Bates
• Troy Faruk as Deputy Chief Wesley Robinson
• Rico Ball as Ishmael
• Bill Duke as Agent Odell
• Alexander Hodge as Philky
• James Roch as Donald
• Sibongile Mlambo as Maya Odell
• Fantastic Negrito as Fantastic Negrito Hologram
• McKalin Hand as Uriah Coleman
• Jamal Akakpo as Kevin Mason
• Kenneth Trujillo as Jesse Gentilucci
• Will Blagrove as Keith Michaels
• Sofia Vassilieva as Looker
• Jef Holbrook as Party Pic Guy

Production

Development

On January 7, 2020, The CW renewed the series for its fourth season. On the early renewal of Black Lightning as well as other series, network president Mark Pedowitz released a statement reading, "These early orders for next season give our production teams a head start in plotting out story arcs and a jump on hiring staff, and this also provides us with a strong foundation of established, fan-favorite CW shows to build on for next season."^[1] On November 20, 2020, The CW confirmed that the fourth season will be the final season of the series.^[2]

Casting

Main cast members Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin "Krondon" Jones III, Jordan Calloway, and James Remar return from previous seasons as Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, Jennifer Pierce / Lightning, Anissa Pierce / Thunder, Lynn Stewart, Tobias Whale, Khalil Payne / Painkiller, and Peter Gambi, respectively. This is the first season to not feature Damon Gupton as Billy Henderson. In January 2020, Gupton revealed that Henderson was not in the plans for the fourth season and that the third season would be his last as a series regular.^[3] McClain appeared in a limited number of episodes, as she planned to leave the series after the season, ahead of it being announced to be the final season.^[4] This led to the fifth episode to have her character recast to Laura Kariuki.^[5] McClain, however, returned for the finale.

In November 2020, Chantal Thuy, who portrays Grace Choi, was promoted to a series regular for the fourth season.^[6]

Filming

Filming began in mid-October 2020.^{[7] [8]}

Release

The fourth season premiered on February 8, 2021.^[9] After this, episodes began releasing weekly every Monday.

Reception

Ratings

No DVR ratings are available before the seventh episode.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ausiello . Michael . January 7, 2020 . CW Renews Riverdale, Batwoman, Roswell, Black Lightning Plus 9 Others . live . https://archive.today/20200517133110/https://tvline.com/2020/01/07/the-cw-renewed-shows-2020-list-riverdale-flash/ . May 17, 2020 . January 7, 2020 . TVLine.
2. Web site: Petski . Denise . November 20, 2020 . 'Black Lightning' To End With Season 4 On the CW . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120181755/https://deadline.com/2020/11/black-lightning-end-fourth-season-on-the-cw-1234619591/ . November 20, 2020 . November 20, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
3. Web site: Mitovich . Matt Webb . January 19, 2020 . Black Lightning: Original Cast Member Damon Gupton Out Ahead of Season 4 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200120115526/https://tvline.com/2020/01/19/black-lightning-damon-gupton-leaving-season-4-chief-henderson/ . January 20, 2020 . January 19, 2020 . TVLine.
4. Web site: Caruso . Nick . November 22, 2020 . Black Lightning Star: You'll See Less of [Spoiler] in Final Season ]. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201123140450/https://tvline.com/2020/11/22/black-lightning-season-4-spoiler-china-anne-mcclain-leaving-cw/ . November 23, 2020 . November 23, 2020 . TVLine.
5. Web site: Mitovich. Matt Webb. March 9, 2021. March 9, 2021. Did Black Lightning Recast [Spoiler]?!]. TVLine.
6. Web site: Ramos . Dino-Ray . November 13, 2020 . 'Black Lightning' Ups Chantal Thuy To Series Regular; Actress Talks Season 4, Asian And LGBTQ Representation In The Superhero Genre . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201113173136/https://deadline.com/2020/11/black-lightning-chantal-thuy-series-regular-the-cw-season-4-asian-american-superhero-grace-choi-ryan-choi-1234613659/ . November 13, 2020 . November 13, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
7. Web site: November 22, 2020 . Now Filming in Georgia . live . https://archive.today/20201122210456/https://www.georgia.org/industries/film-entertainment/georgia-film-tv-production/now-filming-georgia . November 22, 2020 . November 22, 2020 . Georgia Department of Economic Development.
8. CGTNwezl5Bm. nafessawilliams. Williams. Nafessa. Nafessa Williams. October 14, 2020. Happy to be back at it! First day of Season 4. We on the way, y'all reeeeaddddyyy?! #BlackLightning #Thunder⚡️ hair @caprice01 makeup @autumnmckenney. live. https://archive.today/20201202183406/https://www.instagram.com/p/CGTNwezl5Bm/. December 2, 2020. December 2, 2020.
9. Web site: Ausiello . Michael . October 29, 2020 . The CW Sets Delayed Premiere Dates for Flash, Superman & Lois, Riverdale, Charmed, Batwoman and More . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201029164556/https://tvline.com/2020/10/29/the-cw-premiere-dates-2021-the-flash-superman-and-lois/ . October 29, 2020 . October 29, 2020 . TVLine.