‘Arrow’ gets renewed for third season

Looks like fans of The CW’s superhero TV series “Arrow” have a lot to appreciate this Valentine’s season. 

 

The network, Warner Bros., and DC Entertainment have announced that the popular show has been renewed for a third season. In fact, stars Stephen Amell, Colton Haynes, and Caity Lotz took to Amell’s Facebook page and shot a pic of the trio holding up the three fingers sign to confirm the good news!

 

As a modern re-telling of the character’s life and origin based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, the series stars Canadian born actor Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy from Starling City. 

 

The young Queen returns to his hometown five years after being stranded on an island following a shipwreck incident. He is re-united with his family and friends, but also driven to begin a crusade to find out those who, years earlier, were responsible for his fate. 

 

The series focuses on Ollie as he takes up a bow, arrow, and hood to clean up his city, while also flashing back to his experiences during his time on the island itself. 

 

Hiding his secret from his family, Ollie is eventually assisted and joined by his bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey) and his company’s IT specialist Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards)

 

Now running on its second season, “Arrow” has steadily risen up in ratings thanks to its superb writing and character casting. Literally shifting gears and taking the character to familiar ground, Ollie has refocused his efforts to clean up crime by trying another way, by actually refraining from killing the criminals he hunts down.

 

The supporting cast further expands with the addition of Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), a former petty crook who idolizes Arrow and becomes the boyfriend of Oliver’s sister Thea (Willa Holland), and the emergence of another mysterious female vigilante known as the “Canary” (Caity Lotz), who’s is more than meets the eye, in terms of combat savvy. 

 

As the dangers of his double life and mission escalate with the growing criminal element and figures tied to his past in the island, Ollie’s mission to save those he cares for and become the hero he was born to be has only just begun.

 

Much like the Superman centered series “Smallville”, “Arrow” aims to take point and establish a true shared DC TV Universe in the small screen. This was done with the successful introduction of other DC Comics characters not necessarily related to Green Arrow, but encountered by the character through his adventures in the comics. This includes Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke  (played by Manu Bennett) as Ollie’s former ally and now primary antagonist. 

 

 

However, The CW has bigger plans, as it cast and introduced "Glee" star Grant Gustin as Barry Allen in a two-part episode story for the second season last year as eventual lead up to the spin-off “Flash” TV series sometime this 2014. That show is getting a lot of press, including the announcement of original 1990’s “The Flash” series star John Wesley Shipp, who will be playing a guest role for the new show. 

 

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are strategically incorporating popular comic book characters into their shows, and it’s only a matter of time until we see the same tactic employed on the big screen as well.

 

"Arrow" is currently on its second season. — KDM, GMA News