The Flash Showrunner Is Actually Relieved About Shortened Season 6

Last week, The Flash returned from a hiatus after the coronavirus pandemic shut down production on The CW's popular Arrowverse series and while fans were excited to have the show back on air, it came with the news that the season would be cut a few episodes short. Series star Grant Gustin revealed in an interview at the time that episode 6x19, "Success Is Assured", would now serve as the Season 6 finale. While the news may have come as a disappointment for fans, for showrunner Eric Wallace, the slightly abbreviated season is a relief because of where the "new" finale leaves the story until Season 7.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, Wallace said the structure of the second half of The Flash's sixth season allowed for the story to hit at a cliffhanger in just the right episode -- and it's one that makes the season finale anything but ordinary.

"Ironically, I'm relieved," Wallace said when asked how he felt about the shortened season. "I'll tell you why. When I break the seasons of The Flash, each graphic novel is broken down like a movie, what I think of as my master plan. So, like a good movie, it has an act one, act two, and an act three. Well, the end of this season, because of production stopping, will be the end of act two of our movie, which is a perfect point to break your story because there's a huge cliffhanger and there's a hero at his lowest point, but yet now you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Wallace also noted that he was disappointed that they weren't able to complete production as planned, but the cliffhanger will be something very different -- in a good way.

"So, it actually was very fortunate for us, even though it was very sad to see production end and not be able to get to what is essentially act three of our movie," Wallace continued. "When we come back, not only are you presenting the ending in a house on fire, but where we leave this year's cliffhanger isn't just an ordinary episode."

The Flash shut down production on its sixth season on March 13. At the time it was reported that the series did have several episodes already filmed, but it wasn't clear how many. Provided the show airs weekly until through the remaining episodes, the new season finale will air on May 12, with Stargirl taking over The Flash's slot on May 19th.

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.