The series premiered in the United States on The CW on October 10, 2012, and was primarily filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In January 2019, The CW renewed the series for a ten-episode eighth season, announcing in March that it would be the final season.

The season premiered on October 15, 2019 and featured the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event; the series finale aired on January 28, 2020.

Arrow follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen , who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on Lian Yu, a mysterious island in the North China Sea, before returning home to Starling City to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow.

Throughout the series, Oliver is joined by others, among them former soldier John Diggle , I.T.

expert and skilled hacker Felicity Smoak , former assassin Sara Lance , aspiring vigilante Roy Harper , Oliver's sister Thea , and attorney-turned-vigilante Laurel Lance .

During the first five seasons of the show, characters from Oliver's past appear in a separate story arc based on Oliver's flashbacks.

Starting with season seven, a series of flash-forwards focus on Oliver's children William and Mia, exploring how present events would affect their future and Green Arrow's legacy.

The series takes a new look at the Green Arrow character, as well as other characters from the DC Comics universe.

Although Oliver Queen / Green Arrow had been featured in the television series Smallville from 2006 to 2011, on The CW, the producers decided to start clean and find a new actor to portray the character.

Arrow has received generally positive reviews from critics.

The series has received several awards and multiple nominations.

In October 2014, a spin-off TV series titled The Flash premiered.

This was the first extension of the shared "Arrowverse" universe.

The Flash was later followed in 2015 with Vixen and Supergirl, in 2016 with Legends of Tomorrow, in 2017 with Freedom Fighters: The Ray, and in 2019 with Batwoman, which are all part of the same shared universe.