The CW is looking towards something of a rebrand and, with that, the network that was once known as a place for teen dramas, supernatural fare and superheroes isn't the same. The end of The Flash earlier this year marked the end of the Arrowverse, which was started by Arrow back in 2012. The Stephen Amell-led series ran for eight seasons and officially came to an end in early 2020. However, Amell recently revealed the show wasn't always going to run as long as it did.
Stephen Amell appeared at the Cincinnati Comic Expo on September 23, where he revealed a very interesting fact about the show that solidified him as a star. Fan account flashfacts4real posted a video to Instagram from the actor’s panel. It seems a fan asked him when he knew it was time to end the show, and Amell then admitted just how long Oliver Queen’s journey was supposed to last:
Arrow was designed, in theory, to go five years, right? Like, there’s this whole journey, and we sort of... we had flashbacks, and eventually you catch up.
It sounds like Arrow has something else in common with Supernatural, as the 15-season show was also supposed to end after Season 5, which still blows the creator's mind. The reasoning for the superhero show's extension is unknown but, looking back at its run, it would have made sense for the series to end after the fifth season. It's worth mentioning that the flashbacks had been such an important part of the series since the pilot episode. When they finally concluded in that season's finale, with Oliver going back to Lian Yu, it marked a true full-circle moment.
That’s not to say that it was a bad thing for the show to go on for three additional years. Because of that, fans were able to see more crossovers within the Arrowverse, were introduced to additional characters and more. The flashbacks may have been pivotal for the first five seasons, but it was refreshing not to have them during Season 6 and beyond.
Arrow's increased run also allowed the series to help welcome Batwoman to the sprawling superhero franchise and have Oliver Queen meet Superman. Those are actually two of Stephen Amell’s favorite Arrowverse memories. So sure, it might've been appropriate if it ended after five seasons as planned. However, fans surely could've missed out on more than a few major developments had that come to pass.
And while it’s been over three years since the show's finale aired, it’s been just over five months since Amell last appeared in the Arrowverse. The actor returned as Oliver Queen for The Flash’s final season and even cleared up an issue from the last episode of his own show. Stephen Amell and co. should be proud of the work they did over the years, and you can check it out by streaming all eight seasons of Arrow with a Netflix subscription.
