A woman who once sought refuge from a home intruder by climbing onto her roof has since found success as a producer for a popular Netflix series.
Four years after the frightening event, she became a producer for a show that received rave reviews across 20 episodes.
In September 2014, Melora Rivera experienced a terrifying break-in at her home in Venice, California, when an intruder forced his way through her front door.
In a panic, she escaped through a window to the roof. However, the intruder also climbed onto the roof, as captured in images that have recently resurfaced.
“He managed to break one of the panels and reach in to unlock the door,” she explained to CBS News during the incident. “Once I saw him inside, I knew we both couldn’t be there.”
She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed 911 as the intruder, later identified as Christian Hicks, a homeless man struggling with mental illness, pursued her.
Rivera took cover under an eave, fearing that Hicks might find the same hiding place. “The drop was more than 20 feet,” she noted. “There was no safely coming down.”
Police arrived swiftly within two minutes, and the fire brigade helped Rivera down from the roof. A bystander, Alexandria Thompson, witnessed Hicks in handcuffs and mentioned he had been in her yard earlier that day. Although he was taken into custody, Hicks was released after a witness chose not to identify him.
Following the incident, Rivera has spoken out about the increasing homelessness problem and the importance of providing adequate support for those with mental health issues, to ensure the safety of both individuals and the wider community.
Four years after her ordeal, Rivera produced 20 episodes of a popular series for The CW, which can now be watched on Netflix.
The show has received an impressive 92 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes over its four seasons, with the first season rated at 96 percent.
This superhero drama features high school principal Jefferson Pierce (played by Cress Williams), an ex-crime fighter who retired to protect his family from the perils of his secret life. However, he is drawn back into action when a dangerous gang threatens his daughters and community.
With his powers to control and manipulate electricity, Pierce returns to protect his city and loved ones.
The show, titled Black Lightning, was created by Salim Akil and aired on The CW from 2018 to 2021. It is currently available on Netflix, where it has found a new audience.
The Rotten Tomatoes consensus states: “Black Lightning doesn’t reinvent superhero TV, but it does give the genre a necessary jolt with real-world plots, scary new villains, and a star-making performance from Cress Williams.”
A fan praised it as ‘unique, exciting, and smart,’ while another admitted, “I gotta admit it sucked me in like nobody’s business.”
A third fan commented: “Huge fan of this series. Every episode unveils another layer to a complex story that keeps getting better and better, every week.”
All four seasons of Black Lightning are available for streaming on Netflix in the US and ITVX in the UK.