'Black Lightning' Is Ending, but Another Arrowverse Spinoff Is on the Way
Mar. 8 2021, Updated 1:55 p.m. ET
Saying goodbye is seldom easy and our farewell to the Pierce family is no exception. After initially airing in 2018, Black Lightning has amassed a loyal fanbase of viewers who are invested in the residents of Freeland, Ga., and their safety.
The city, which is home to superhero Black Lighting and his family, is riddled with violence and a particularly nefarious gang of criminals called “The One Hundred." So, where exactly can Freeland be found?
Where is Freeland, the city ‘Black Lightning’ takes place in?
Right before the Season 2 finale of Black Lightning, showrunners drop a major Easter egg about where Freeland is actually located. In “The Book of the Apocalypse: Chapter One: The Alpha,” viewers are given a glimpse of Peter Gambi’s computer, revealing that the fictional city is in Georgia.
While featured on a panel at the Television Critic Association conference in 2018, show creator Salim Akil revealed that he initially wanted to name the city after his hometown, Richmond, Calif. He ultimately decided against it because he didn’t want to make anyone feel bad about where they are from.
Salim said of the show’s “personal” nature, "I didn't want to portray anybody as just a mustache-twirling bad guy, so I chose that name to constantly remind me that I'm writing people that I know and the environment I grew up in.”
Fans of the series, which tackled topics like police brutality and mental health, are sad to see the show come to an end, but Black Lighting co-creator Salim Akil recently made a statement that gives the show’s cancellation a silver lining.
Although the series is ending, fans can expect to see ‘Black Lightning’ characters in the upcoming spinoff.
Last November, showrunners announced that Black Lighting would be airing its final season, but it won’t be the last franchise to surface from the Arrowverse. According to Salim, a new Black Lighting spinoff is in the works and it will feature a few familiar faces.
The series, entitled Painkiller, will detail the life of Khalil "Painkiller" Payne, who will later receive a backdoor pilot in the final season of Black Lightning. The show co-creator told Syfy, "We're shooting the Painkiller pilot now. We fully intend for it to be a spinoff. I know that if Painkiller gets picked up, you'll probably see [the Pierce sisters] in there."
Showrunners tease that Khalil, who also has roots in Freeland, Ga., is a former ally of Tobias Whales and Agent Odell whose character will explore the “duality of Black men.” His synopsis reads, "Khalil is a young man ridden with the guilt of his troubled past from his former life in Freeland City, where, as a super-enhanced killing machine known as Painkiller, he was both a member of Tobias Whale's gang and a weapon of Agent Odell and the shadowy ASA."
You can catch new episodes of the final season of Black Lighting Mondays on the CW at 9 p.m. ET.
