Black Lightning Resurfaces on PVOD 5 Years After Last Episode

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The show initially aired on The CW for four seasons before ending its run. Surprisingly, five years later, it’s back – and quickly becoming popular on demand, topping the charts for premium video on demand (PVOD).

According to FlixPatrol, Black Lightning is now the third most popular TV show on Apple TV in the US. This is a big leap, considering it wasn’t even in the top 25 just yesterday. The reason for this sudden increase in viewers isn’t clear, especially since the show ended on The CW in 2021 and hasn’t been widely discussed recently.

Black Lightning Was Part of the Arrowverse

Based on DC Comics characters, Black Lightning was part of The CW’s now-ended series of superhero shows. Cress Williams played the main character, a retired superhero who comes back to fighting crime, and the show explored how this impacted his work and family.

The show stars China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce, also known as Lightning and the daughter of Black Lightning. Nafessa Williams plays Anissa Pierce, or Thunder, another of Black Lightning’s daughters and a groundbreaking character as the first Black lesbian superhero on television. Christine Adams portrays Lynn Stewart, a neuroscientist, while Marvin Jones III (Krondon) plays Tobias Whale, Black Lightning’s main enemy. James Remar appears as Peter Gambi, a mentor figure to the superhero, and Jordan Calloway is Painkiller, Tobias Whale’s cybernetically enhanced assistant. Rounding out the cast is Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi, a shapeshifter.

Black Lighting Had Strong Reviews

Critics consistently praised the TV series Black Lightning, giving it an average score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. At one point, the network considered creating a spin-off series centered around the character Painkiller, but those plans were cancelled in 2021, the same year Black Lightning concluded. Despite the show’s critical success, high production costs and falling ratings ultimately led to its cancellation.

According to showrunner Salim Akil, a key goal of the series was to ground its superhero stories in real-world issues. He told EW that they consistently aimed for this authenticity each season, which he believes distinguished the show from others. Unlike some series, they didn’t shy away from the consequences of violence; characters genuinely felt the impact of events.

Akil explained he wanted people to understand that the struggles in Freeland – and places like Oakland, Richmond, and Minneapolis – reflect a larger issue. He wanted to highlight the fact that many African American communities are experiencing daily gun violence that often goes unreported, and bring attention to this hidden crisis.

Episodes of Black Lightning can be purchased on the Apple TV store.

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2026-03-29 00:36