Arrow's Wendy Mericle Says Oliver is Forging A New Legacy in Season 6
Arrow executive producer Wendy Mericle may have told ComicBook.com that the cliffhanger at the end [...]
Arrow executive producer Wendy Mericle may have told ComicBook.com that the cliffhanger at the end of season 5 won't be totally resolved this season, but the plans for season 6 are for Oliver to put all of that behind him and start something new and hopeful.
The series just wrapped production on season 5, but Mericle, Marc Guggenheim, and the rest of the show's writers and producers are already breaking story for next season.
"Oliver is moving toward forging a new legacy," Mericle said. "He's put this past and this burden from his family to rest and he's moving forward to redefine that in season 6. It's all new, and he's got this wealth of experience and knowledge to draw from now, and a team to work with."
While the final few episodes promise danger, violence, and a small army of cameo appearances, there are some characters -- including Wild Dog and Black Canary, who recently signed on as series regulars for next season, as well as Thea, who has been designated safe by Guggenheim -- who will definitely still be back...and without Oliver's ongoing flashback narrative, Mericle says audiences might get to know more about those characters than they otherwise might have.
"Moving into season 6, we're not calling it a reboot because the show's still called Arrow and it's still about Oliver and his team, so that part's not changing, but we aren't going to have the flashbacks," Mericle explained, saying that eliminating the storytelling device opens up a lot of flexibility in the show's format, while still allowing them to flash back -- to Oliver's adventures or anyone's -- when the story needs it. "It gives us a lot more real estate, a lot more space to hopefully bring in some cool villains and tell some cool character stories — and we have some new characters on the show whose backstories we really haven't had an opportunity to experience. WE saw a little bit of Wild Dog's, we haven't seen that much of Dinah's. If we bring in anybody new or we'd love to have Ragman back at some point as well, we can use the flashback device to tell other people's kind of islands, if you will. And that part is very exciting."
Arrow airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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- Arrow's Wendy Mericle On the Olicity Balancing Act
- Arrow's Wild Dog Story Isn't Over Yet -- and That Might Be Bad News For His Daughter
- John Barrowman Will Play A Major Role In Arrow's Season 5 Finale
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