Stephen Amell Describes Arrow Season 6's New Course And Scarred Survivors

07/12/2017 12:29 pm EDT

The finale of Arrow's fifth season left fans wondering if the show would be, in any way, recognizable, given the fact that almost all of its core characters were on the island of Lian Yu as it exploded with Oliver Queen looking on.

Season 5 of Arrow was heavily influenced by the death of Laurel Lance, following the effects on each individual character as the team disbanded before coming back together, only to disband again. The events of Season 4 had a major carryover for the CW series' fifth season. For Season 6, the ending of Season 5 will have a similar impact according to Oliver Queen actor Stephen Amell.

"The impact of the finale is gonna be felt throughout the season," Amell said. "There's always like a cataclysmic moment in every one of our seasons that always influences everything. For us, it was the explosion on the island. If anyone survived, they didn't survive without emotional and or physical scars."

Amell, and many of Arrow's fans, see Season 5 as one of the series' best years if not comfortably atop the leaderboard. For the actor, it is easy to identify why the most recent season was such a success. "Season 5, it was the end of chapter, and maybe even a book," Amell said. "Season 6, I don't think that we can equal the weight, because we can't take a bunch of stories full circle again but I feel like we can set off on a new course and do a really great job with it."

With over 100 episodes in the rear-view mirror, the team behind Arrow continues to reinvent the series heading into their sixth season. "This year is the first year, we're going to have James Bamford on as a producing director on the show, which is something new," Amell points out. "I think that's it's really important, and [Arrow executive producer] Greg Berlanti has always said, as you move through a show, it's important that you groom people and then you hand if off to them. It's kind of like, every once in a while a sports team needs a new manage. They tune out that coach. It's not that we tuned out anyone, it's just that, I think that Season 5, all things being equal, considering that its our fifth season, all things being in play. I think it's our strongest year."

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After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the North China Sea. He returned home to Star City, bent on righting the wrongs done by his family and fighting injustice. As the Green Arrow, he protects his city with the help of former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), computer-science expert Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), his vigilante-trained sister Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Deputy Mayor Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), brilliant inventor Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), and his new recruits, street-savvy Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez) and meta-human Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy).

Oliver has finally solidified and strengthened his crime-fighting team only to have it threatened when unexpected enemies from his past return to Star City, forcing Oliver to rethink his relationship with each member of his "family."

Based on the characters from DC, ARROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti ("The Flash," "Supergirl"), Marc Guggenheim ("DC's Legends of Tomorrow," "Eli Stone"), Wendy Mericle ("Desperate Housewives," "Eli Stone"), Andrew Kreisberg ("The Flash," "Eli Stone," "Warehouse 13") and Sarah Schechter ("The Flash," "DC's Legends of Tomorrow").

Supergirl premieres on Monday, October 9th at 8 pm, while The Flash debuts on Tuesday, October 10 at 8 pm. Legends of Tomorrow moves to Tuesdays this Fall, airing right after The Flash on October 10. On Thursday, October 12 at 9 pm Arrow will premiere to round out the DC roster.

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