Arrow Star Stephen Amell Honors Heartbreaking Arrowverse Anniversary

To say that there’s been a ton of change throughout The CW’s Arrowverse since January 28, 2020, would be an understatement. Setting aside the real-world tragedies of the COVID pandemic that ravaged most of last year, viewers learned that they would be saying goodbye to Supergirl and Black Lightning and hello to Superman & Lois. Speaking of goodbyes and hellos, Arrow fans saw their hopes for a Green Arrow and the Canaries series crash and burn after the network didn’t move forward on the pilot but Stargirl was brought over from the now-defunct DC universe. And on the horizon? A backdoor pilot for a Black Lightning spinoff focused on Jordan Calloway‘s Painkiller, a new take on Wonder Girl, and Ava DuVernay‘s Naomi. As for the date above that we started out with and why that’s so significant? That was the day that the last episode of Arrow (“Fadeout”) aired- a date that series star Stephen Amell (Heels), who was definitely feeling it on Thursday.

Here’s a look at Amell’s post where he explains why Thursday felt like such a physical and emotional meatgrinder for him until social media reminded him in the midst of a busy day why the date was so meaningful. We’ve said before that can’t imagine the bonds of friendship and family that form after working together for so long and how hard that must be to walk away from when it’s done- so waves of good vibes to Amell as well as the entire cast, crew, and creative team for making nights “super” when many of us needed it for eight seasons.

Not a ton went right today. I couldn’t shake the feeling my energy was off. I was sad. Then I went on social media and realized it’s been a year since Arrow aired its final episode and everyone was posting this photo. So… today tracks now. pic.twitter.com/KsKhKit21L

— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) January 29, 2021

During an appearance on the Inside of You podcast with host Michael Rosenbaum in October 2020, Amell revealed there was a time over the summer when production on his STARZ indie wrestling series Heels was on hold over COVID production shutdowns. Since Amell was already quarantining, wanting to work, and on stomping grounds that he got to know for eight seasons as the star of Arrow, he decided to call Greg Berlanti. Amell’s pitch: he’s already in the area and since The CW shows might be having issues getting American actors over the border, why not whip up another season for the Emerald Archer- or at least keep it “on the radar,” as Amell asked Berlanti to do. Now while things straightened out on the Heels side, it did go to show that fans have every right to hold out hope. Amell even referred to Michael C. Hall‘s return to Dexter to demonstrate the importance of never saying never.