Black Lightning spin-off Painkiller not moving forward at CW

Painkiller, the proposed spin-off of The CW's Black Lightning, won't be moving forward at the CW, EW has confirmed.

As the news broke, star Jordan Calloway offered a thank you to the show's fans.

"For those of you that have not heard, Painkiller will not be going any further, so let's rip that Band-Aid off now, okay?" Calloway said in a Twitter video. "Now, what I wanted to do was just, very quickly, make a video saying thank you. Thank you to the fans, thank you to the supporters, thank you to CW, to Warner Media for affording me the opportunity to even do a spin-off. And, also, thank you most importantly to my cast, my crew, and of course, to my God."

Calloway said he was beyond "grateful" for the opportunity.

"I can't put into words how grateful I am. From the experiences that I've learned, from the relationships that I've made—it's been a blast, it's been phenomenal. So, as we lay this character to rest and we move on to the next chapter, I just wanted to say thank you guys. You are amazing," he said.

The actor, whose character, Khalil, originated on Black Lightning, also plugged the series finale of that show, which concludes its four-season run Monday evening on the CW.

"I love you all and please tune in tonight for the season finale of Black Lightning, 9/8c on the CW. We know you're going to enjoy it. I know you're going to love it. We killed it, so tune in, check us out and again, thanks for rocking with us. Love you guys," he concluded.

Painkiller was set to explore the two sides of Calloway's character—Khalil and the titular anti-hero. "He's a great anti-hero," the actor told EW's Chancellor Agard in a recent interview. "One that you hate because of his past, but he's also misunderstood."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, although Painkiller won't go forward at The CW, Warner Bros. TV will shop it elsewhere. A representative for the studio didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from EW.

The CW's schedule is continuing to evolve. EW just reported the live-action Powerpuff Girls series didn't get a series order (and is being reworked and repiloted off cycle). Additionally, the CW has given a series order to Naomi, the DC superhero show produced by Ava DuVernay, and All American: Homecoming, a spin-off of the popular sports drama. Previous series orders were given to reboots of 4400 and Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Related content:

• Black Lightning star Jordan Calloway on Khalil's struggle in the Painkiller pilot
• The CW orders Naomi and All American spin-off to series, reworking Powerpuff pilot
• Naomi actress perfectly recreates DC comic in first photo from Ava DuVernay's CW pilot