It’s About to Get Harder to Watch This Arrowverse Series

Arrowverse fans are about to have a much harder time watching one of the franchise’s most critically acclaimed series. According to What’s on Netflix, Black Lightning is set to leave Netflix — at least for international customers — in just a few days on February 9th. The last day to watch the series, which is listed as a Netflix Original outside of the United States, is February 8th. The departure of Black Lightning only seems to be effective for regions where the series bears the “Netflix Original” branding. Until then, all four seasons of The CW series remain available to stream so fans wanting to watch one more time – or for the first time – still have a window left to binge.

Black Lightning’s departure from Netflix internationally is, in a sense, the beginning of the end for Arrowverse fans outside of the United States. All of the shows in The CW’s franchise are slated to leave the streamer in the coming months. Arrow is set to leave on December 18th with Supergirl following on December 15, 2026, Legends of Tomorrow on September 2, 2027, and The Flash on November 28, 2028. Fans in the United States have a bit more time with Black Lightning, however. The series is expected to stay on Netflix there until September 1, 2026.

[RELATED: Black Lightning Never Should Have Joined the Arrowverse]

Black Lightning debuted on The CW on January 16, 2018, and ran for 58 episodes over 4 total seasons, concluding on May 24, 2021. The series starred Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, principal of Garfield High School and former superhero Black Lightning who finds himself suiting up again when his daughters, Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) are kidnapped by The 100 gang led by Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III). Over the course of the series, both Anissa and Jennifer begin to develop their own powers, becoming the heroes Thunder and Lightning respectively.

Initially, Black Lightning wasn’t envisioned as being part of The CW’s Arrowverse and was instead its own, separate show with its own world, something that was supported by the studio and the network.

“I say this with all due respect, but they’re not really relevant to the show that we’re doing,” series co-creator Salim Akil said in 2018. “The great thing that Warner Bros. And CW allowed us to do was create our own world. We really wanted folks to get to know this family before we started branching out.”

However, that changed in 2019 with Crisis on Infinite Earths, the big Arrowverse crossover event. The event saw the destruction of — and ultimately, unbeknownst to the heroes, the rebirth of — the multiverse which included merging Black Lightning’s world with that of the main Arrowverse heroes to create Earth-Prime. While the remainder of Black Lightning’s run wouldn’t see much in the way of connection between the series and the rest of the Arrowverse, Black Lightning did ultimately crossover and make an appearance in Season 8 of The Flash as part of that series’ “Armageddon” event.

Are you sad Black Lightning is leaving Netflix internationally? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.