Black Lightning: Season Three Ratings

While the Black Lightning series is also based on DC Comics characters, the show didn’t have any direct connections to The CW’s other superhero shows in its first two seasons. Could that have hurt Black Lightning’s ratings? Will the big “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event bring more interest to this series and ensure its renewal? Will Black Lightning be cancelled or renewed for season four? Stay tuned. *Status update below.

A superhero series, the Black Lightning TV show is based on DC Comics characters and stars Cress Williams, Christine Adams, China Ann McClain, Nafessa Williams, James Remar, Marvin Jones III, and Damon Gupton. In the series, Jefferson Pierce (Williams) is a former Olympic athlete, a respected educator, and a family man. He’s also Black Lightning, the superpowered protector of the city of Freeland who has the ability to sense and harness electricity. His daughters Anissa (Williams) and Jennifer (McClain) also have powers and superhero personas of their own. Lynn Stewart (Adams) is Jefferson’s ex-wife and an expert in metahuman medicine and they are still very much in love. Together, the Pierce family faces the challenges of a declined urban community, including infamous gangster, Tobias Whale (Jones III), and a menacing gang that calls itself The 100.

The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s likelihood of staying on the air. The higher the ratings (particularly in the 18-49 demo), the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available — usually the next day, around 11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Refresh to see the latest.

3/10 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.

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For comparisons: Season two of Black Lightning on The CW averaged a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 963,000 viewers.

Note: These are the final national numbers (unless noted with an “*”). These are different from the fast affiliate numbers which are just estimates of the actual ratings. The final nationals are typically released within 24 hours of the programming or, in the case of weekends and holidays, a couple days later.

What do you think? Do you like the Black Lightning TV series on The CW? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a fourth season?

*Update: The CW has renewed Black Lightning for a fourth and final season.