Arrow


 * For other uses of "Arrow", see Arrow (disambiguation).

"You, Harper, Sara, the freak in Central City, the Huntress; I got a new guy flying around the city. All these masks? They started with him."

- Quentin Lance to Laurel Lance

Arrow is a television series and a modern retelling of the DC Comics series Green Arrow. Stephen Amell portrays the eponymous lead character Oliver Queen, who fights crime as a vigilante. The series' first season premiered on October 10, 2012, and concluded on May 15, 2013. The second season premiered on October 9, 2013, and concluded on May 14, 2014. The third season premiered on October 8, 2014, and concluded on May 13, 2015. The fourth season premiered on October 7, 2015, and concluded on May 25, 2016. The fifth season premiered on October 5, 2016, and concluded on May 24, 2017. The sixth season premiered on October 12, 2017, and concluded on May 17, 2018. On April 2, 2018, the series was renewed for a seventh season, which premiered in the 2018–19 season. The CW announced on January 31, 2019 that the series was renewed for an eighth season. It was announced by Stephen Amell on March 6, 2019, that season eight would serve as the series's final season.

Synopsis
After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for 5 years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the North China Sea. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother, Moira, much-beloved sister, Thea, and best friend, Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he has become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his ex-girlfriend, Laurel Lance.

As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of the Arrow, a vigilante archer, to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be, flanked by his devoted chauffeur and bodyguard, John Diggle, while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under the cover of darkness. However, Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest Arrow for operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver's own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.

Introduction
At the beginning of most episodes in the first three seasons, a voiceover of Oliver Queen describes briefly the hardships that he faced during his five years away from home. Oliver states that as he has returned, he has decided to help out the people of his city by honoring both his father and his friend, respectively. However, beginning with, the monologue changed near the end of the season, briefly describing his crusade, but going on to mention his necessary ascension as the heir to the Demon, Ra's al Ghul. In the fourth season, the monologue was changed as he realized his old approach to bringing justice isn't enough, which leads him to become the Green Arrow. The fifth and sixth season's monologue retains the crusade but also includes Oliver balancing his life as Star City Mayor and as the Green Arrow. However, starting with ​, Oliver came to terms following Samantha's death on Lian Yu and decided to pass the Green Arrow mantle to Diggle so that he can take care of his son William.

Season 1

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. For five years, I was stranded on an island with only one goal-- Survive. Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish-- to use the list of names he left me and bring down those who are poisoning my city. To do this, I must become someone else. I must become something else."

Season 2

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After five years on a hellish island, I have come home with only one goal-- to save my city. But to do so, I can't be the killer I once was. To honor my friend's memory, I must be someone else. I must be something else."

Season 3

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I have come home with only one goal-- to save my city. Now others have joined my crusade. To them, I'm Oliver Queen. To the rest of Starling City, I am someone else. I am something else."

and variant

 * "My name was Oliver Queen. For three years, I worked to save my city. But to save my sister, I had to become someone else. I had to become something else."

Season 4

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I returned home with only one goal-- to save my city. But my old approach wasn't enough. I had to become someone else. I had to become something else. I had to become the Green Arrow."

Seasons 5–6

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I returned home with only one goal-- to save my city. Today I fight that war on two fronts. By day, I lead Star City as its Mayor. But by night, I am someone else. I am something else. I am the Green Arrow."

, and  variant

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I returned home with only one goal-- to save my city. But I couldn't honor that commitment and honor the promise I made to the mother of my son. So I asked the best man I know to help. His name is John Diggle and he is the Green Arrow."

Season 7

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After six years of being a vigilante, the only way to achieve my goal and save my city was to confess to being the Green Arrow. Now my family and friends must carry on my mission without me. I am no longer a hero. I am Inmate 4587."

Midseason variant (narrated by Barry Allen in )

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. After six months in hell, I have been released from prison and returned home with only one goal--to save my city, but things have changed. Instead of operating outside the law, I am now working alongside the police. I am no longer Inmate 4587. I am once more the Green Arrow."

Season 8

 * "My name is Oliver Queen. For seven years, I have fought with only one goal--to save my city. But now a new threat has emerged. A danger so severe it has forced me to leave my family in order to face it, and it won't be enough for me to just be the Green Arrow. To prevent the crisis that's coming, I am going to have to become someone else. I am going to have to become something else."

Main cast

 * Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/The Hood/The Arrow/Green Arrow
 * Katie Cassidy (also credited as Katie Cassidy Rodgers in season 7) as Laurel Lance/Black Canary (seasons 1–4 and 6–7; special guest season 5; special appearance season 8) and Laurel Lance/Black Siren/Black Canary (seasons 6–7; special guest season 5; special appearance season 8)
 * Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn (season 1; special guest seasons 2–3, 7-8)
 * David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan
 * Willa Holland as Thea Queen/Speedy (seasons 1–6; special guest seasons 7–8)
 * Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen (seasons 1–2; uncredited voice cameo season 3; special guest season 5 and 8)
 * Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance (seasons 1–6; special guest seasons 7–8)
 * Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak/Overwatch (seasons 2–7; recurring season 1; special guest season 8)
 * Colton Haynes as Roy Harper/Arsenal (seasons 2–3 and 7; recurring season 1; special guest seasons 4, 6 and 8)
 * Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (season 2; recurring season 1; guest season 3; special guest seasons 5–6)
 * John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer (seasons 3–4; recurring seasons 1–2; special guest seasons 5, 7-8)
 * Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific (seasons 5–7; recurring season 4; special guest season 8)
 * Josh Segarra as Adrian Chase/Prometheus (season 5; special guest season 6 and 8)
 * Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog (season 6–present; recurring season 5)
 * Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake/Black Canary (season 6–present; recurring season 5)
 * Kirk Acevedo as Ricardo Diaz/Dragon (season 7; special guest season 6)
 * Sea Shimooka as Emiko Adachi/Green Arrow (season 7)
 * Katherine McNamara as Mia Smoak/Blackstar (season 8; recurring season 7)
 * Ben Lewis as Older William Clayton (season 8; recurring season 7)
 * Joseph David-Jones as Connor Hawke (season 8; recurring season 7)
 * LaMonica Garrett as Mar Novu/The Monitor (season 8; guest season 7)

Trivia

 * The series was originally pitched as The Hunter.
 * Arrow has had one supplemental web series, ​​​​, and three supplemental comic book series: ​​​​, ​​​​, and ​​​​. As well, Arrow has had several supplementary books.
 * Arrow has the most series regulars in the Arrowverse with 21.
 * Followed by DC's Legends of Tomorrow with 19. Supergirl with 18. The Flash with 15. Batwoman has the least with 7.
 * The actors with the most number of appearances are:
 * Stephen Amell  (Oliver Queen) - 167 episodes
 * David Ramsey  (John Diggle) - 159 episodes
 * Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak) - 154 episodes
 * Katie Cassidy Rodgers (Laurel Lance) - 124 episodes
 * Willa Holland (Thea Queen) - 113 episodes
 * All the penultimate episodes for each season were originally named after songs by Bruce Springsteen. Though Seasons 2 featured two episodes and Season 8 was supposed to, but was later changed. According to Marc Guggenheim, the latter episode's original title "Livin' In the Future" was changed at the request of Warner Bros. due to the inclusion of the backdoor pilot for the proposed Green Arrow and the Canaries spin-off.
 * From season 2 to season 6, every eighth episode of Arrow's season featured Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, initially as an introduction, and subsequently as part of the annual crossovers. Season 5 Invasion's crossover also paid homage to the series as the series 100th episode. Not wanting for the Flash's 100th episode to be bogged down or deviate focus, Season 7 deviated from this by having the crossover featured in episode 9 of The Flash and Arrow's seasons, doubling as the mid-season finale for those shows.