Anissa Pierce will have some company on the new CW series ‘Black Lightning’. Chantal Thuy has been cast as Grace Choi, a bartender and comic book fan who will serve as a confidante and friend to Anissa (Nafessa Williams) who is coming to grips with her budding superpowers. In the comics, Grace was Anissa’s teammate in ‘The Outsiders’ and the pair eventually became girlfriends.
Anissa, a.k.a. Thunder, develops gravity-controlling powers, while Grace has superhuman strength and invulnerability due to her Amazonian heritage. Grace was created by Judd Winick and artist Tom Raney and first appeared in ‘The Outsiders’ #1 in 2003.
The ‘Black Lightning’ series was created by Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil. Both serve as executive producers along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter. Salim Akil directed the pilot episode.
The series also stars Cress Williams as Black Lightning/Jefferson Pierce, Christine Adams as Lynn Pierce, China Anne McClaim as Jennifer Pierce, James Remar as Peter Gambi, Damon Gupton as Inspector Henderson, Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III as Tobias Whale and Jill Scott as Lady Eve.
Thuy has made guest appearances on ‘Madam Secretary’ and ‘Pretty Little Liars’ and starred in the miniseries ‘Crossing the Rubicon: The Journey’.
In the comics, Jennifer Pierce (China Ann McClain) also has superpowers. She can transform into electricity, project bolts and manipulate electronic devices.
Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
Though ‘Black Lightning’ is based on a DC superhero and will air on The CW, it will not immediately be connected to that network’s “Arrowverse.” The producers, however, state that there could be crossovers in the future.
Source: Variety
