MegaCon 2018: A Conversation with the Cast of Black Lightning

Last weekend, the cast of Black Lightning brought the thunder and lit up MegaCon 2018. Stars Cress Williams (Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning), Nafessa Williams (Anissa Pierce/Thunder) and China Anne McClain (Jennifer Pierce/Lightning) were all on hand to answer fan questions, talk about representation, and even spilled some juicy details about the upcoming season of their hit CW show. Check out a few of the highlights below:

On How Dense the Show is
“I was very surprised at how realistic the script was. The Pierce family really reminded me of my own family. The issues that Jennifer was going through as a teenager really reminded me of issues I’ve gone through, and am still going through. I forgot it was a superhero show until I saw people were getting lit up.” [laughs] — China Anne McClain

The Chemistry Between Nafessa Williams and China Anne McClain
“It was instant. I felt it in the casting room. My agents called and gave me the good news and I screamed. Then I asked, ‘Is China Anne McClain playing my sister? I need this to happen.’” — Nafessa Williams

“I was praying when I left the room. I was like first, I hope I get it, and second, I hope Nafeesa gets it.” — China Anne McClain

Being TV’s First Black Lesbian Superhero
“I’m still having a moment with that and digesting that. It takes a moment. It feels great when I hear the feedback from young women and knowing that they’re seeing themselves on TV. For me as an actor, I want to do roles that are inspiring and empowering to women who are watching.” — Nafessa Williams

How Many Episodes Will Next Season Be?
“The way that our show is structured is more serialized. We have a villain/conflict of the week. I don’t think we’ll ever do a full 24-episode. All they’ve told us that we’ll do a minimum of thirteen but more than likely a few more than that.” — Cress Williams

Will There be a Crossover?
“Never say never. We just finished season one and we have a lot of stories to tell. We have a lot of character development left to explore. We have so many facets of our show that we haven’t tapped into yet. And we have the comic book history and all these characters we can introduce. Let us get going and then we can talk about crossovers.” — Cress Williams

Will Grace Be Back?
“Anissa was so focused on finding out who she was and her powers. She got side-tracked. From what I hear, we are going to be seeing Grace back.” — Nafessa Williams

What Can We Expect from Jennifer in Season Two
“I think Salim [creator] said I’m going to get a suit next season.” — China Anne McClain

Photo Credit: Kevin Jan for Pop Culturalist.com