Say Goodbye to DC’s 4-Part Sci-Fi Action Series Leaving Netflix Next Week
Black Lightning, the CW superhero series based on the DC Comics character, is leaving Netflix on 31 August, giving viewers about one more week to watch it. The show ran for four seasons and 58 episodes between 2018 and 2021 as part of the "Arrowverse" franchise, and is notable for offering a faithful adaptation of its source material, following Jefferson Pierce as he returns to vigilante life to protect his family and city from a violent gang.
The article traces the character's origins back to a 1977 DC pitch called "Black Bomber," a bigoted white Vietnam veteran who transformed into a Black superhero; writer Jennie (referred to as Jenny) Isabella rejected this concept and instead created Jefferson Pierce, who debuted as Black Lightning. The TV series stars Cress Williams as Pierce, a retired hero and school principal in Freeland, Georgia, alongside China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams as his superpowered daughters, with Marvin Jones III as villain Tobias Whale. The show largely stayed independent of the wider Arrowverse's complex continuity, making it praised as an accessible, well-crafted entry point for fans of CW's superhero output.
- Black Lightning leaves Netflix on 31 August 2026.
- Series ran four seasons (2018–2021) as part of the Arrowverse.
- Character's creation was a response to a rejected, racially fraught 1977 DC concept.
New here? Start with this
Black Lightning is a superhero drama that ran on the US network The CW from 2018 to 2021, adapted from a DC Comics character created decades earlier. It follows Jefferson Pierce, a retired vigilante and school principal in the fictional town of Freeland, Georgia, who is drawn back into costumed crime-fighting to protect his family and community. The character has his roots in a 1970s comics pitch, which the eventual creator reworked into the hero known as Black Lightning.
The show is part of the so-called "Arrowverse," a shared universe of CW superhero series based on DC characters, though it largely told its own self-contained story rather than tying closely into that wider continuity. It starred Cress Williams as Pierce, with China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams playing his two daughters, who also develop superpowers, and Marvin Jones III as the villain Tobias Whale.
The programme has been available to stream on Netflix, but all four seasons are due to be removed from the platform on 31 August, meaning viewers have a limited window left to watch it there.