The Flash Fans React to Series Ending

The Flash alive is racing towards an exit on The CW. The Arrowverse spinoff will end after a 13-episode ninth and final season of the superhero series starring Grant Gustin as scarlet speedster Barry Allen, the fastest man alive. Showrunner Eric Wallace, who announced the long-running DC show's finale Monday, confirmed The Flash will conclude after a shortened season in 2023 on The CW. By the end of its run, The Flash will have outlasted its contemporaries, the eight-season Arrow and the seven-season Supergirl, and the Arrowverse series Batwoman, Black Lightning, and Legends of Tomorrow. 

"Nine seasons! Nine years of saving Central City while taking audiences on an emotional journey full of heart, humor, and spectacle," Wallace said in a statement. "And now Barry Allen has reached the starting gate for his last race. So many amazing people have given their talents, time, and love to bring this wonderful show to life each week. So, as we get ready to honor the show's incredible legacy with our exciting final chapter, I want to say thank you to our phenomenal cast, writers, producers, and crew over the years who helped make The Flash such an unforgettable experience for audiences around the world."

Gustin and co-stars Candice Patton and Danielle Panabaker are set to return for The Flash Season 9. Jesse L. Martin, who portrays Joe West, recently departed the show as a series regular but is expected to appear in up to five of the final 13 episodes airing next year. 

Warner Bros. Television, DC Entertainment, and producer Greg Berlanti's Berlanti Productions launched The Flash as an Arrow spinoff in 2014, one week before Warner Bros. Pictures announced a live-action feature film starring Ezra Miller as the speedster superhero. The long-delayed film set in the DCEU, which crossed over with Gustin's Barry Allen in the CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths event, is now set to release in theaters just weeks after The Flash wraps up on television. 

The abbreviated final season of The Flash airs early 2023 on The CW.