Regarding the casting, showrunner and executive producer Salim Akil said, "Jill is an amazing artist who can embody any character and give them an authentic voice that is both nuanced and richly complex. I am excited to see her in the role of Lady Eve."
Black Lightning stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe HAVEN for young people in a neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the SUPERHUMAN power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. Almost a decade later, Pierce's crime-fighting days are long behind him... or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang THE ONE Hundred, Black Lightning returns - to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
Based on the characters from DC, Black Lightning is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl), Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil (Being Mary Jane, The Game, Jumping the Broom, Girlfriends) and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl). The Black Lightning character was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden