DC’s Hidden Gem Arrowverse Show Black Lightning Leaves Netflix In Just Weeks

DC's most underrated Arrowverse show is reportedly set to leave Netflix soon, meaning it's currently the perfect time to start or continue watching it for those who want to catch it before its scheduled exit. The Arrowverse timeline is one of the more underrated itself in the world of superhero media, though the franchise does have its own considerable and passionate fanbase still to this day, years after it came to a conclusion.

That said, even within the Arrowverse, attentions were divided. Unsurprisingly, Arrow was the central focus of the Arrowverse, with The Flash being the franchise's second show, and second most popular and focal series within the interconnected show world. While this is understandable on some levels, it does mean other connected shows garnered less attention, and their best moments went amiss even for plenty of DC fans.

One such Arrowverse show has had a second life of sorts on Netflix, though this is reportedly set to come to an end soon, meaning that those who want to give the series a view on Netflix only have the span of a few weeks in order to do so - and there's plenty of reason to do so as the weeks count down.

Black Lightning Reportedly Leaves Netflix Next Month

Black Lightning - The CW show which focused on the titular hero, who is forced out of retirement and back into the mantle in order to protect his loved ones - was made a formal part of the Arrowverse alongside Supergirl thanks to the franchise's adaptation of Crisis On Infinite Earths. The event rebooted the series' crossover show universe, and brought Black Lightning and Supergirl on-screen alongside the Arrowverse's other heroes - which was a notable plot twist for Black Lightning, given it had initially been explicitly stated that the show was not a part of the Arrowverse.

As such, it's perhaps no surprise that it's often forgotten that Black Lightning did become a part of the Arrowverse, given much of its run was as its own separate entity, and given the more obscure nature of Black Lightning compared to bigger DC names like Green Arrow or The Flash also meant there was less attention on the series overall across the course of its run.

Paradoxically, this does make the release even more worth watching on Netflix currently before its reported exit in September 2026 (as per What's On Netflix), since it's a show even plenty of DC fans are likely to have missed, and since the show is an interesting look at a corner of the comic lore that is often underappreciated both on page and on-screen, including featuring an assortment of characters who don't really appear elsewhere in DC's adaptations.

Why Black Lightning Is Worth Watching Before September 2026

Off the bat, Black Lightning is immediately interesting in terms of following a very different path than the conventional superhero movie or show. Rather than centering on an origin story and focusing around how the hero gets and gets used to their powers, the show kicks off with Jefferson Pierce having already been through this experience, and starting the story as a retired vigilante and high school principal with a wife and child, making his priorities subsequently and notably divided on many fronts.

This lens provides a unique superhero show throughout, and works well with the grittier side of Black Lightning, which manages to walk a careful line between providing a more grounded take on the superhero mythos, and delving into stories featuring metahumans with larger-than-life powers at the same time.

Now the Arrowverse has come to an end, there's also an undeniable extra level of fascination when it comes to watching the DC shows within it, and seeing how the puzzle pieces that were the franchise's various shows came together and were changed by the series' crossover releases - meaning there's all the more reason to give some or all of Black Lightning's four-season run a watch before its reported Netflix exit date.

Release Date 2018 - 2021-00-00

Showrunner Salim Akil

Directors Oz Scott, Bille Woodruff, Benny Boom, Michael Schultz, Mary Lou Belli, Eric Laneuville, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Robert Townsend, Rose Troche, Tawnia McKiernan, Keesha Sharp, Mark Tonderai, Neema Barnette, Rob Hardy, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Tanya Hamilton

Writers Charles Holland, Adam Giaudrone, Jan Nash, Lamont Magee, Pat Charles, Salim Akil, Jake Waller, Keli Goff, Jamon Allen Brown, Asheleigh O. Conley

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  Cress Williams

  Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning

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  Nafessa Williams

  Anissa Pierce / Thunder / Blackbird