Black Lightning Star China Anne McClain Posts Emotional Video About Show Ending

Black Lightning star China Anne McClain posted an emotional video about the show ending on Instagram. People are still wondering what is going to happen after the news yesterday. The actress dropped the bombshell during the video clip that she was going to leave Season 4 of The CW hit no matter what had transpired. There was no ill-will between her and the network or anything of the sort, but she was moved to seek another opportunity. Fans in the replies are offering their support as they grapple with the idea of a mainstream source of representation like Black Lightning going by the wayside. People have been trying to post through it for a lot of the past two days, and there will be more reflection as the weekend goes on. One thing is now certain, if Black Lightning had continued, it would have had to adjust in some major ways regardless of the latest news.

“There’s something I want to tell you, and for those who haven’t heard, I’m sorry,” she began. “This season of Black Lightning that we’re filming right now is going to be the last season of the show. I didn’t find that out until yesterday. I found out with everybody else. I didn’t know. But, what I did know and have known along with the rest of the cast since before we even started shooting this season is that I am leaving the show. And was leaving the show. This was going to be my last season, regardless of if it went on or not. For different reasons, that if we’re being honest, I do not want to go into. I just want y’all to trust me on it.”

She added, “I didn’t want to tell you until I had to. Now with this news breaking, it felt like the right time. But, I knew I was going to have to tell you at some point because I only agreed to do a certain number of episodes. I’m not in the whole season. Obviously, y’all are going to notice that, given that I’ve been in every episode in the past three seasons. There’s been a lot to happen over this quarantine, and I’m not talking about the PC side of it. I’m not talking about that. These things are real. And the way of the world now, it’s real. All of this is an illusion, this industry for what it is, and everything that people look to and praise? It’s not important.”

McClain goes on to say that this doesn’t have anything to do with The CW and specifically praises the people in charge at the network. The actress explains that she plainly enjoyed working there and the creative team she spent all those hours working with.

When news came down, series creator Salim Akil told Variety how grateful the entire team was for this kind of support.

“When we first started the Black Lighting journey, I knew that Jefferson Pierce and his family of powerful Black Women would be a unique addition to the superhero genre,” Akil said. “The love that Blerds and all comic book fans around the globe have shown this series over the past three seasons proved what we imagined, Black People Want To See Themselves in all their complexities.”

How do you feel about Black Lightning ending? Let us know down in the comments!