Parents' Guide to Black Lightning

Parents need to know that Black Lightning is a superhero drama with dark, mature themes and levels of violence, sexual content, and drugs that are intense for network TV. Black Lightning (aka Jefferson Pierce, played by Cress Williams) pointedly doesn't use guns during his many battles, but the bad guys do and are frequently shot (showing blood) and killed. Though Black Lightning sometimes turns to logic and reason to defuse violent situations and uses his bolts of electricity to subdue rather than kill, innocent bystanders sometimes get caught in the fray. Villains are more violent; for example, a major baddie shoots a man in the chest. There's also a sexual threat in some of the violence, like when gang members say that a woman should sell her body to pay a friend's debts. The show's violence is frequently intertwined with issues of race and/or class, with Black Lightning emerging when police officers engage in racial profiling (e.g., saying things like "get your black ass on the ground"). Women and people of color have strong central roles, and young women are able to set boundaries around sex, romance, and drugs. Expect same- and opposite-sex flirting, dating, and kissing, and language including "damn," "ass," "hell," and "bitch." A teenage main character is shown smoking and drinking at a club; later, she says she's a "little stoned"; drugs also play a part in gang activity. Adult characters drink cocktails, but no one acts tipsy.