Black Lightning doesn’t premiere until 2018 and not many story specifics are known, but we just got one solid piece of information. It was originally thought Black Lightning would take place in New Orleans becuase of many statements from the cast and creators, but it’s actually taking place in the fictional city of Freeland, according to TV Line’s Ask Ausiello column.
In the comics, Black Lightning was from Suicide Slum, Metropolis. This fictional city is leading some fans to believe Black Lightning is one step closer to joining the Arrowverse. However, people are definitely reading too much into it. There’s a difference between being part of the Arrowverse and crossing over with the rest of the Arrowverse -- The Flash, Legends, and Arrow. Supergirl, who is from National City on Earth 38, isn't exactly part of the Arrowverse. It's quite possible Freeland is a city on the same Earth as The Flash and Arrow, but it could be another Earth completely, like Supergirl. Either way, it’s still not a guarantee we’ll see Jefferson Piece on any other DCTV show.
A t the TCA 2017 summer press tour, CW boss Mark Pedowitz Pedowitz emphasized that the decision to bring Jefferson Pierce into the Arrowverse is showrunner Mara Brock and Salim Akil’s choice.
"If [the showrunners] wish to bring it in, that is their call. We had a long discussion with the studio, Mara, Salim and myself. We were fine with them making it separate from the Arrowverse, they have a different point a view. If they end up wanting to go that way, that will be their decision."
EP Salim Akil told Entertainment Weekly he’s not opposed to a crossover at some point, but definitely after the first season. He gave a detailed explanation about why he’d like Black Lightning to run on its own without cross-promotion. Get the details below, and let us know if you want Black Lightning to cross over with the rest of the Arrowverse in the comments below.
“Jefferson is on planet earth 2017-2018. From my perspective, the reason that we walk down this road was because, let’s all be honest, the majority of people may know the title Black Lightning , but they don’t really know who Jefferson and Black Lightning is, and I felt like it was very, very important for us to get to know who he is and who this character is and what his wants and needs and vulnerabilities are before we start introducing a lot of other things into that. That’s the main reason: I want people to get to know this family. I want them to get to understand what kind of villains that he’s fighting. There ain’t many superheroes down in the ghetto, or so-called ghettos. The communities that Jefferson and Black Lightning is trying to save is the communities like Chicago, Watts, all of the things that we see on television, those are very real villains and very real heroes. We want to explore through Jefferson and Anissa and Jennifer’s eyes, and Gambi’s eyes, we want to try to understand these communities not just as victims, but as hard-working people, blue-collar people, who are caught in some very f—ed up circumstances, but it doesn’t make them less than, and we shouldn’t ignore them. One of the things that Black Lightning will do, and Jefferson will do, is be able to introduce the humanity of the people who are caught in these communities. So I didn’t want to distract from that, and I didn’t want to distract from us getting to know Jefferson, Jennifer, and Anissa, or Black Lightning, Thunder and Lightning. I wanted people to get to know them first.”
Black Lightning was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden.
