‘Black Lightning’ Season 1 is Now on Netflix

If you’ve been waiting to catch up on Black Lightning — or if you’ve been waiting for the whole season to be available so you can binge — you’re in luck.

The full, first season of Black Lightning is now officially available to stream on Netflix. The release of the first season on the streaming service comes just over a week after its season finale on April 17 entitled “Shadow of Death: The Book of War”. The fast turnaround from broadcast finale to streaming availability is largely thanks to the deal that was struck between Netflix and The CW back in 2016 which significantly shortens the window of time before a season arrives on Netflix.

If you haven’t caught Black Lightning yet, catching it on Netflix is an excellent opportunity. The show’s first season is only 13 episodes long making it easy to binge — which you will certainly want to. The series is unlike The CW’s other DC Comics-inspired superhero series. With a focus on the family and community and aspect of things more than the super heroic, the series is very much grounded in a reality not too far off from our own while still being packed with action and a mystery that will keep viewers guessing until the very last episode of the season.

Of course, Black Lightning is also unique from the rest of The CW’s heroic programming in that it exists in its own universe, something that series star Cress Williams told Innovation & Tech Today is something showrunner Salim Akil refers to as the “Lightningverse.”

“I think the producer/creator of the show, Salim [Akil], has been pretty clear that we’re not really a part of the Arrowverse,” Williams said. “I know everybody wants us to be, and I still see tweets going, ‘another Arrowverse show.’ But we’re not part of it. I think he’s even talked about it, it would be really great to create a new universe. I think he coined it the ‘Lightningverse’.”

And being part of its own world means you don’t have to wait for the rest of the network’s hero shows to hit Netflix to jump in. Black Lightning isn’t part of the Arrowverse. Williams said that the Black Lightning simply doesn’t translate into that world.

“Personally, I don’t think it would really translate,” he admitted. “If we tried to fit ourselves into the Arrowverse, we’d have to completely change the style of our show. If the Arrowverse tries to fit into ours, it’s also changing the style of their show. They’re very different.”

Black Lightning has been renewed for a second season. ComicBook.com will provide you with any updates on the second season premiere as they develop.