Arrow is joining the ranks of cancelled superhero TV shows, as star Stephen Amell has announced that the show’s upcoming eighth season will be its last.
Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life… but you can’t be a vigilante forever.
Arrow will return for a final run of 10 episodes this Fall.
There’s so much to say… for now I just want to say thank you.
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) March 6, 2019
We don’t have any info on The CW’s reasoning for the cancellation yet, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Arrow has been airing since 2012. Back in January, The CW president Mark Pedowitz said:
“Things will age and we want to get the next generation of shows to keep The CW DC universe going for as long as possible”
From this, it’s not a stretch to believe the cancellation comes as a way of making room for new heroes.
Similarly, Beth Schwartz, Arrow’s showrunner, and its executive producers Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim referred to the future in their statement on the cancellation:
“This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we’ve made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind.
We’re heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come. We’re excited about crafting a conclusion that honors the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and — more importantly — the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years.”
Plus, with The CW’s DC shows building towards a Crisis on Infinite Earths story, it’s likely that the show will use the opportunity to end Arrow gracefully – there’s even speculation that the crossover will kill off Oliver Queen.
While Arrow has been a controversial show, it’s been a staple of The CW’s DC universe for many years. It will be dearly missed by both its fans and cast; the show’s stars have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the cancellation:
Being a part of this series from the beginning & being brought back over the course of its run has been beyond.
It a professional highlight it & brought me wonderful lifelong friends.
Thank you to all the fans who’ve kept Tommy alive all & congrats to all those involved ❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/KJIsSI6Ta1
— COLIN DONNELL (@colindonnell) March 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/JulianaHarkavy/status/1103466839328251904
What an awesome ride! @arrow fans have been the best any actor could've asked for! Thank you for helping me bring John Diggle/Spartan to life!!! Love all of you! Can't wait for you to see what we have in stock for you. Let's end on a high, shall we? #ARROW pic.twitter.com/CDfjpCTNqA
— David Ramsey (@david_ramsey) March 6, 2019
Exactly how the show will end remains to be seen, but we’ll find out fairly soon when Season 8 of Arrow airs this fall.