50 Fun Facts About Arrow TV Series

On which network did Arrow premiere on October 10, 2012?

It ran eight seasons to January 2020 and became the founding show of the Arrowverse. Green Arrow had already appeared on the same network's Smallville.

How many years does Oliver Queen claim to have spent shipwrecked on Lian Yu?

The island sits in the North China Sea. In truth he also spent time in Hong Kong and Russia, as the flashbacks gradually reveal.

What was Oliver's hometown called before it was renamed Star City?

The rename came in season four, along with Oliver adopting the name Green Arrow and running for mayor.

By what name is Oliver's vigilante known in season one?

He hunts names from his father's notebook. After Tommy Merlyn's death he vows to stop killing and becomes 'The Arrow' in season two.

What is the name of the season-one conspiracy led by Malcolm Merlyn?

Merlyn, the Dark Archer, planned to level the Glades. John Barrowman played him as a recurring villain before becoming a regular in season three.

Whose death at the end of season one leads Oliver to vow never to kill again?

Colin Donnell later returned as hallucinations, as the Earth-X Prometheus, and finally as an Earth-2 doppelganger revived by Oliver's restored multiverse.

Which former mentor from Lian Yu attacks the city as Deathstroke in season two?

Manu Bennett was recurring in season one and a regular in season two. The flashbacks reveal how their friendship curdled into a feud.

Which government agency and its leader are introduced in season two?

Waller later forces Oliver to work for her in Hong Kong in the season-three flashbacks and sends him back to Lian Yu in season four's.

To whom does Oliver lose control of his family's company at the start of season three?

Brandon Routh's character renamed it Palmer Technologies and made Felicity its vice-president before spinning off into Legends of Tomorrow as the Atom.

Which League of Assassins leader does Oliver clash with in season three to protect Thea?

Matt Nable played him. Talia turns up later, training Oliver in the season-five flashbacks in Russia.

In which city do the season-three flashbacks place Oliver, working for Waller to stop a lethal pathogen?

He escapes Lian Yu only to be conscripted. The season-five flashbacks then send him to Russia to join the Bratva.

Which terrorist group, led by Damien Darhk, is the main threat of season four?

Neal McDonough's Darhk kills Laurel and plans to detonate nuclear weapons. Oliver and Felicity had been living quietly in Ivy Town before returning.

What discovery leads to Oliver and Felicity's break-up in season four?

They reconcile and marry during the season-six crossover Crisis on Earth-X. Their daughter Mia appears in the later flash-forwards.

Which serial killer, revealed to be district attorney Adrian Chase, is season five's villain?

Josh Segarra's performance was singled out by critics. The season also introduced Black Siren, Laurel's Earth-2 doppelganger from The Flash.

Which former Central City detective takes up the Black Canary mantle in season five?

Juliana Harkavy played her. Laurel had been the Black Canary until her Earth-1 version was killed in season four.

In the season-five flashbacks, Oliver joins which Russian criminal brotherhood?

He is trained there by Talia al Ghul before returning to Lian Yu to be 'rescued'.

Which terrorist hacker leads the criminal cabal in season six before being killed by Ricardo Diaz?

Michael Emerson played him. Diaz's takeover and Team Arrow's split forced Oliver into a deal with the FBI that ended with him in prison.

What is Oliver's inmate number when he is sent to federal prison at the end of season six?

He confessed publicly to being the Green Arrow as part of the FBI deal. Season seven opens with Felicity trying to get him out.

Who is revealed as leader of the Ninth Circle in season seven?

Sea Shimooka's Emiko had taken over as Green Arrow while Oliver was inside. She is his paternal half-sister.

How far into the future are the flash-forwards introduced in season seven set?

They follow adult William and Mia in a 2040 Star City. William, Mia and Connor Hawke then time-travel to the present in the final season.

Which actress plays Mia, Oliver and Felicity's daughter, in the flash-forwards?

Mia goes by Blackstar and later Green Arrow. Ben Lewis plays the adult William Clayton.

What does Oliver become after sacrificing himself during Crisis on Infinite Earths?

He uses the power to stop the Anti-Monitor and restore the multiverse, reviving Moira, Quentin Lance and an Earth-2 Tommy in the process.

Where is Oliver reunited with Felicity in the final scene of the series?

Emily Bett Rickards had left before the final season but returned as a special guest star for the finale.

John, Oliver's bodyguard-turned-partner created specifically for the show, was named after whom?

David Ramsey's Diggle was designed as Oliver's equal, and later took the codename Spartan. He also received a Green Lantern-style ring tease.

How was Emily Bett Rickards' Felicity Smoak originally cast?

She recurred through season one, was promoted to regular for season two, and became the show's co-lead. She announced her exit in March 2019.

What codename does Felicity eventually adopt on Team Arrow?

She ran Palmer Tech in season four and founded Smoak Technologies in season seven. She is stepmother to William and mother to Mia.

Which future Supergirl auditioned to play Thea Queen?

Willa Holland got the part; Thea, later Speedy, is eventually revealed to be Malcolm Merlyn's daughter.

Which Team Arrow member is a technological savant and Olympic decathlon medallist?

Echo Kellum's Mr. Terrific worked with Felicity at Palmer Technologies. Rene Ramirez, Wild Dog, is a dishonourably discharged Marine.

Which vigilante codename does Rene Ramirez use?

Rick Gonzalez played the dishonourably discharged Marine with an estranged daughter, Zoe, from season five.

Which Smallville actor's Green Arrow did the producers deliberately NOT continue when creating Arrow?

A spin-off had been discussed during Smallville's sixth season, but the new team wanted to chart their own course with a fresh actor.

Who directed the Arrow pilot, having also directed the pilot of Smallville?

He signed on a week after the series was ordered to pilot in January 2012.

In which city was Arrow primarily filmed?

The Lian Yu flashbacks were shot in the city's Whytecliff Park area near beachfront homes.

Which Oscar-winning costume designer created Oliver's original vigilante suit?

Amell insisted he be able to put it on by himself so audiences would buy it. Maya Mani later designed the mask from about 50 options.

Which character gives Oliver his domino mask in the episode 'Three Ghosts'?

Grant Gustin's Barry appeared in season two ahead of The Flash spin-off. Producers wanted the mask so the Arrow could face people without ducking his head.

Which composer, who first worked with Greg Berlanti on Everwood, scored Arrow?

Berlanti told him the show would be dark and the music should be too. Neely went on to score most of the Arrowverse.

How many US viewers watched Arrow's premiere, The CW's biggest telecast in three years?

It was the network's most-watched series premiere since The Vampire Diaries in 2009. Sky 1 in the UK drew 1.85 million.

How many episodes made up Arrow's abbreviated final season?

Amell had approached Berlanti about moving on when his contract ended after season seven; the producers chose a short eighth season to conclude properly.

Which fast-food chain from the Superman comics appears in Arrow from its third episode onward?

Guggenheim cited it as an example of pulling in wider DC universe details. Its Vancouver stand-in became a fan landmark.

Which pair of DC creators are credited with creating Green Arrow, the character Arrow is based on?

He debuted in 1941. Mike Grell, whose Longbow Hunters reshaped the character, drew the cover of Arrow's 2012 Comic-Con preview comic.

Which Batman film series did the creative team cite as inspiration for Arrow's tone?

They wanted to 'put it all out there' and 'not hold back' from episode to episode. Variety still called it 'a handsome but stiff surrogate for Batman'.

Which Arrow character did Joseph David-Jones play, having earlier played him on Legends of Tomorrow?

He is Ben Turner's biological son and Diggle's adopted son, an agent of Knightwatch in the 2040 flash-forwards.

Which actor plays both the Monitor and his opposite, the Anti-Monitor?

Mar Novu recruits Oliver in the final season to prepare for the Crisis; Mobius is the being bent on ending the multiverse.

What vigilante codename does Roy Harper, Thea's boyfriend, take on in Arrow?

Colton Haynes was promoted to series regular for season two after recurring in season one.

In which body of water does the show place Lian Yu, the island where Oliver was shipwrecked?

For the first five seasons the island flashbacks ran alongside the present-day story to show how Oliver became the vigilante.

Which actor's performance as Damien Darhk was singled out for praise in the otherwise mixed fourth season?

Critics knocked the season's mundane flashbacks and formulaic finale even as they enjoyed its villain.

Which alien race abducts Oliver, Thea, Diggle, Sara and Ray in 'Invasion!', Arrow's 100th episode?

The 2016 crossover with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow also featured Supergirl's Kara Danvers.

Which actor reprised his NBC role as John Constantine in the season-four episode 'Haunted'?

The 'one-time-only deal' brought him in to deal with the fallout of Sara Lance's resurrection.

Which cast member co-wrote the digital comic Arrow: The Dark Archer with his sister?

The 2016 comic explores a younger Malcolm Merlyn, with Corto Maltese and Nanda Parbat featured.

Felicity Smoak is loosely based on a character from which DC comic series?

Emily Bett Rickards was booked as a one-off guest star before the IT technician became a series lead.

Which audio company sponsored Blood Rush, the six-part series of shorts released alongside season two?

The shorts, shot in Vancouver like the main show, follow Roy waiting at Queen Consolidated while Felicity handles a call from Officer Lance.