Black Lightning continues to keep a strong foothold in the TV superhero series genre by filtering the meta-human experience through various Black lenses. Jefferson, Anissa, and Jennifer all have different personal experiences, ages, and viewpoints about what it means to be a hero as they each navigate their individual journeys and try to remain a tight family unit.
The show’s cast is absolutely phenomenal, but it takes more than onscreen talent to tell this unique story. The creatives behind the scene play an equally important role in bringing Freeland’s super family to life in an authentic way.
The show was created by Salim and Mara Akil, a married production duo who are known for their work on other successful Black shows like Girlfriends and The Game. They also have a talented assortment of diverse writers crafting the narrative each season.
It’s definitely worth noting a few famous Black directors who are involved in Black Lightning season 2’s creative team. They are well-known for their contributions in TV, film, and even music videos in regards to how they deliver the African-American experience to audiences.
Here are four of the brilliant Black minds behind the camera this season:
Salli Richardson Whitfield
She’s a familiar face in the acting world, with appearances on Being Mary Jane, Stitchers, and even Black Lightning season 1, but she has had a directing hand in shows like Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dear White People, Scandal, and The Punisher, alongside Black Lightning as well.
And ’90s kids are familiar with her as the voice of Elisa on Gargolyes. It’s extremely important to have a Black woman in the director’s chair, especially since two of the main heroes are young Black women. Richardson-Whitfield directed “The Book of Consequences: Chapter Four: Translucent Freak.”
Benny Boom
Benny Boom is a legend in the hip-hop and R&B music video world and basically anybody who was anybody worked with him in the 2000s, including Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Ciara, Lil Wayne, Nelly, Nicki Minaj, and countless other top artists. Before taking on Black Lightning, Boom directed the 2017 Tupac biopic All Eyez on Me.
He’s well-versed in capturing the spirit of Black people in an innovative and visually stunning way, so he was the perfect choice to take on the big mid-season finale that featured a ton of emotional scenes between Khalil and Jennifer. Boom is actually a repeat director (season 1, episode 6) who returned to do this season’s ninth episode.
Robert Townsend
His career spans back to the mid-1970s, so it’s no surprise that Robert Townsend has worn several creative hats over the years. He created and starred in the ’90s sitcom The Parent ‘Hood as well as The Five Heartbeats and has director’s credits for B*A*P*S, Holiday Heart, and the classic stand-up series Eddie Murphy Raw.
His credits span so many facets of Blackness from an upper-class family to a drug-addicted mother to the round-the-way girl trying to bring her dreams to fruition. And he even played a Black hero himself in 1993’s cult-classic The Meteor Man, so it feels fitting for him to be involved in telling the story of Black Lightning.
Townsend directed episode 13 in season 2.
Jeffrey W. Byrd
Byrd has certainly paid his dues in the industry as a protégé of the iconic Spike Lee as he picked up experience on the sets of Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, and Mo’ Better Blues before stepping fully into his director destiny in Soul Food, Charmed, Marvel’s Runaways, and now Black Lightning’s 12th episode in the current season.
Of course, this doesn’t encompass all of the great Black and other people of color who have contributed to Black Lightning this season. These names include Rose Troche, a lesbian Puerto Rican director who created the underground, critically-celebrated film Go Fish, and Oz Scott, who has worked on shows like The Cheetah Girls, NCIS, and Everybody Hates Chris.
In addition, Eric Laneuville and Tawnia McKiernan may not be as well known to audiences, but their directorial work has been featured in Blue Bloods and NYPD Blue. Obviously, this is a great platform for so many people to get a chance to shine and hopefully the doors will continue to be opened for even more familiar faces and rising stars to contribute to this epic adventure.
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