The CW’s lineup has been stronger than ever in recent years, largely thanks to its superhero programming. Arrow kicked off the comics universe on the network back in 2012 when Oliver Queen took up a bow to protect his city, and The Flash expanded the that universe when Barry Allen woke up from a coma with super speed and a drive for justice in 2014. The two shows have brought big ratings for The CW, and it’s not a total shocker that both have been renewed for the 2016 – 2017 season. There are still plenty of reasons to be excited.
Arrow is currently in its fourth season, and the plot shows no sign of stopping. The structure of the series has been balancing goings-on in the present with flashes back to Oliver’s five years of hell from the very beginning, so fans have been counting on getting at least five years of the Emerald Archer’s adventures. Considering that there’s still plenty of material left to be covered in the flashbacks and Oliver’s journey from dark Hood to full-fledged Green Arrow is not yet complete, news of the Season 5 renewal is more than welcome.
The Flash is now in its second season, and every single episode introduces new bits of plot for the Scarlet Speedster that definitely deserve to be explored. Between Earth 1, Earth 2, and time travel, The Flash isn’t going to run out of story steam any time soon. Now that there’s confirmation of a Season 3, fans should be able to enjoy the rest of Season 2 without worrying about whether or not there would be renewal.
Arrow and The Flash have really become the flagship series for The CW. They expanded the scope of the audience tuning in to the relatively diminutive network, and they’ve created an entire universe of heroes that is continually growing. Legends of Tomorrow would certainly have never existed without the success of Arrow and Flash, and the ensemble cast of Legends has given Flarrow-verse viewers a new take on comic television.
The Flarrow-verse has even grown beyond The CW. Barry Allen will be crossing over to Supergirl on CBS, marking the first time that the networks have shared heroes. There’s no news of whether or not Superflarrow will ever become a television event, but Arrow star Stephen Amell is all for it. Now that Arrow and The Flash have been renewed, the universe can continue developing.
Luckily for Arrow and The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow has been renewed for a second season, so neither will have to work to incorporate any free agent heroes in their next seasons. Flarrow did enough work to launch Legends in the beginnings their fourth and second seasons; focusing on their own stories, aside from the occasional crossover extravaganza, can only be a good thing.
There’s no news yet of how many episodes will be ordered for the next seasons, but the renewal confirmations from The CW are a good place to start. Both The Flash and Arrow are currently on brief hiatuses, but you can catch The Flash when it returns to the airwaves at 8 p.m. ET on March 22 and Arrow at 8 p.m. ET on March 23.
