Although Katie Cassidy appeared in every season of Arrow as some variation of Laurel Lance, her time on the show hit a major speed bump in Season 4. That was when Earth-1 Laurel, i.e. the character Cassidy had been playing since the DC TV show began, was killed by Damien Darhk. Last year, Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim shared his regret over killing off Laurel, and now Cassidy has reflected on how she learned this unfortunate news, as well as being informed that she’d be coming back as Black Siren, a.k.a. the Earth-2 Laurel.
How Katie Cassidy Learned Laurel Lance Was Being Killed Off
Katie Cassidy opened up about this period of her professional life while on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, telling the title host that she “had to eat humble pie” when they killed her off Arrow. As Cassidy recalled, it all started when she and the rest of the main cast received an email saying that showrunners Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle wanted to meet with everyone for lunch individually to do “a little catch up” on what would be happening for the next few seasons. This didn’t sit well with the actress, as she explained:
For whatever reason, my stomach just dropped, and I immediately text Marc Guggenheim, who I adore… I was like, ‘Marc, I just got this email that we’re supposed to have lunch, and I have a sick feeling in my stomach. Please don’t make me wait the weekend. Please, can we get on a call tomorrow?’ He said, ‘Wow, you’re really intuitive. I’ll call you tomorrow.’
This call happened while Katie Cassidy was in New York to attend New York Comic-Con with the rest of Arrow’s cast. It had been set up in the Arrow Season 4 premiere that one of the show’s main characters was in a grave, and Guggenheim broke the news to Cassidy that it was Laurel on this call, which also included fellow co-creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg. The actress was “angry at first,” and then had this to say regarding why she thinks she was selected:
I think it was a couple of things. I have theories. I think it was political. It’s a lot. Regardless, I’m a professional, and I was just like, ‘Ok, I just have to say I feel like I’ve always been given the short end of the stick, and I have to go.’ I hung up and I didn’t yell, I just cried because I was said. Stephen called me immediately and was like, ‘I’m so sorry it’s you. I don’t want it to be you.’ I worked really hard on that show and that character, and I loved it.
While that marked the end of Earth-1’s Laurel Lance journey in the Arrowverse (minus flashbacks, dream sequences and visions), it fortunately wasn’t the end for Katie Cassidy on Arrow. We have The Flash to thank for her return in Season 5 and sticking around for the rest of the show’s run.
How Katie Cassidy Learned She’d Come Back As Black Siren
The Flash introduced the Arrowverse’s multiverse, and in the Season 2 episode “Invincible,” viewers met Black Siren, who was allied with Zoom at the time and had the metahuman ability to sonic scream, as opposed to using a device like Earth-1 Laurel did. Here’s how Katie Cassidy recalled being invited over to the Scarlet Speedster’s show:
I got a call like two weeks after from Andrew Kreisberg, who’s great. He called and was like, ‘Hey, I just wanted to find out, would you want to come on Flash and be your doppelgänger and play Black Siren?’ And I was like, ‘Yes! Oh my gosh, this is so great!. Yes, this is so cool! I would love that!’ So basically I came back on Flash, played the opposite of Laurel.
Evidently that one-off appearance on The Flash was the right call, because “Invincible” hit enough with fans that Marc Guggenheim decided that it was worth bringing Cassidy back to Arrow to keep playing the Earth-2 Laurel. In the actress’ words:
I definitely had the support of the fans because that Flash episode I went on, ratings, I guess, were great, and Arrow’s, unfortunately, after they killed me, I guess their ratings went down a little. I’m not sure, but I did get a call after Flash aired from Marc Guggenheim that said, ‘Will you come back as a series regular? I think we may have made a big mistake.’
Katie Cassidy recurred as Black Siren for four episodes in Arrow Season 5, and then she was restored to her series regular status in Season 6. While the character started off as a more straightforward villain, she slowly redeemed herself and became an ally to Team Arrow. Cassidy was also going to star in the Green Arrow and the Canaries spinoff that Arrow’s penultimate episode set up, with Katherine McNamara and Juliana Harkavy also on board to reprise Mia Smoak and Dinah Drake, respectively. However, by early 2021, The CW passed on the spinoff.
Fortunately, you can still revisit Katie Cassidy’s years on Arrow by streaming the series with a Netflix subscription. Next up, the actress is leading the psychological thriller Nanny-Cam, which is filming in New Jersey.
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