The premiere of the first black superhero family on network TV made quite a rating splash and the rerun didn’t do too shabby either. The pilot for Black Lightning aired on Tuesday, January 16th and 2.3 million people in the U.S. tuned in to watch it.  The network decided to re-air the episode on Friday, where not only did it pull in big numbers again, but it also beat out the ratings for the most recent Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Almost one million viewers watched the repeat, nearly double that of those who saw Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. 

Black Lightning also brought in the highest numbers of a non-crossover tv episode in its time slot, making it the most-watched series premiere for the network since Legends of Tomorrow and #BlackLightning was the number one trending topic on Twitter during the show’s premiere as well as for an hour afterward. A majority of the response surrounding the show has been good and the pilot even dealt with racial discrimination and they did it authentically. Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, who plays Tobias in the series had this to say about why he thinks the show is resonating so well:

“It is rooted in race as the world is now. I think that it’s relatable to real life. Like, even though it’s a universe or multiverse or whatever you want to call it, right? It’s still very much so in today’s time. It’s dealing with the truths of today, whether you are a single mother, single father, student, gay or straight, black or white, dark or light, you know? It’s dealing with the truths and the realities that you may deal with of substance in your own life.”

The series also stars China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Damon Gupton, James Remar, and Cress Williams as the title hero himself, Black Lightning.

Did you watch the first episode of Black Lightning? What were your thoughts on it? Tell us how you feel in the comments below!

Black Lightning airs every Tuesday at 9/8c on The CW.

source: comicbook.com

Published by Erlene S.

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