Greg Berlanti Talks Black Lightning With Indiewire

Indiewire.com recently posted an interview with showrunner extraordinaire Greg Berlanti and one of the topics discussed was how he became involved with the Black Lightning TV series in development for FOX.

“That was mostly [executive producers] Mara [Brock Akil] and Salim [Akil], who are incredibly talented, and the studio just asked me to godfather them a bit, since this genre is newer for them. But they really have a vision for that show, so I hope I can help them execute it,” Berlanti said to the website’s Michael Schneider.

In developing a project with new producers, Berlanti also talked about some of the lessons that he has learned developing shows like Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl that he tries to impart on new production partners. “A few of them would be that the shows have to exist as if they had nothing to do with superheroes as well,” Berlanti said. “What kind of show would it be? What would it be about? What’s the emotional core of the main character and their journey? Inevitably if that stuff isn’t there, everything else feels like noise. I’d say also, your heroes are only as good as your villains. They have to have a great villain as well to challenge the hero. And to not be afraid to make it as specific as possible. Obviously we participate in a lot of these shows right now, and there are a lot of them in TV and movies. The ones that succeed have a real specificity to them. They did that and worked their heart and soul into their pitch. It’s a very personal story for them. I hope people will connect with it.”

Ultimately, Black Lightning, like aspects of many of the Berlanti DC shows, imparts diversity, so that all of the audience can see them reflected. “As the shows have gotten more successful, executives are more open to taking the shows in all sorts of different directions and making them for everybody,” Berlanti reflects. “It’s so great because it’s at the core of these characters. They’re heroes for everyone. It’s nice for people to see some bit of themselves in these heroes. And it’s just as powerful to me when a little boy comes up to me and talks about Supergirl and thinks she’s just as cool as The Flash. It feels like it’s part of the revolution happening in general on television. As there are more shows, people are getting better at realizing there should be more shows about, and for, and by, everybody from all walks of life. That’s better for everybody. It makes you a better storyteller.”

You can read the complete Indiewire profile here; for more on Black Lightning, visit our hub here at KSiteTV.