“Black Lightning” to End After Season 4

Cress Williams and Nafessa Williams in "Black Lightning"

It’s official: the CW confirms Black Lightning will end with season 4. 

News of the superhero drama’s cancelation was confirmed Friday just a week after the network ordered a pilot for a potential Black Lightning spinoff. 

The series, based on the DC character of the same name, follows Jefferson Pierce, played by Cress Williams, a high school principal who dons his superhero suit after years of retirement when a local gang recruits one of his star students. Black Lightning also stars Christine Adams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, James Remar, Marvin Jones III, Jordan Calloway, and Damon Gupton.

“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,” executive producer Salim Akil said in a statement. “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.”

Season 4 of Black Lightning is slated to air early next year.