CW preps ‘Black Lightning’ spinoff ‘Painkiller’ from Salim Akil

The new project will star Jordan Calloway as the titular character.

Nov 12, 2020

The CW has announced plans to move forward with a planted pilot spinoff of Black Lightining, titled Painkiller. The series will star Jordan Calloway, who will reprise his role as the titular character.

The pilot will air as the seventh episode in the upcoming fourth season of Black Lightning and we can’t wait to see where it will take us.

Salim Akil is set to write, direct, and executive produce the series based on characters created for DC by Tony Isabella with Eddie Newell.

Here’s the official logline:

Khalil Payne (Jordan Calloway) is a young man ridden with the guilt of his troubled past from his former life in Freeland City, where, as a super-enhanced killing machine known as Painkiller, he was both a member of Tobias Whale’s gang and a weapon of Agent Odell and the shadowy ASA. After attempting to bury the darker, devastatingly lethal Painkiller part of his persona, Khalil has distanced himself away from everyone he knows and loves in a new city, Akashic Valley, in order to find peace…but peace never comes easy for men with pasts like Khalil Payne and Painkiller.

As his violent, destructive history crashes his idyllic new beginning, Khalil is thrusted back into action with a new mission – bring justice where he once gave out punishment – but to do that, he will first have to deal with and harness his darker side, Painkiller.

We can’t wait to see another Black superhero leading his own series and considering the strength of Black Lightning, we’re pretty sure this will be one worth watching. If you’re already a fan of this spinoff’s predecessor, you know he has a complicated back story and plenty of reasons to try to start over.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!