| Arrow | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
 Region 1 DVD cover | |
| Showrunner | Marc Guggenheim |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Release | |
| Original network | The CW |
| Original release | October 8, 2014 – May 13, 2015 |
| Season chronology | |
The third season of the American television series Arrow premiered on The CW on October 8, 2014, and concluded on May 13, 2015, with a total of 23 episodes. The series is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, and is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with other Arrowverse television series. The showrunners for this season were Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen, with principal cast members Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Colton Haynes as Roy Harper, John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn and Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance also returning from previous seasons.
The series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on Lian Yu, a mysterious island in the North China Sea, before returning home to Starling City (later renamed "Star City") to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow. In the third season, Oliver's company Queen Consolidated is sold to businessman, scientist, and aspiring hero Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) who changes the company's name to Palmer Technologies and hires Felicity as vice president. After Sara is found murdered, Oliver becomes embroiled in a conflict with Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable). He struggles to reconnect with his half-sister Thea who knows Malcolm is her father. Laurel sets out to follow Sara as the Black Canary. Meanwhile, John becomes a father and struggles as a family man. The season features flashbacks to Oliver's third year since he was presumed dead, where after escaping Lian Yu, he is forced to work for A.R.G.U.S. leader Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in Hong Kong. Oliver and Tatsu Yamashiro (Rila Fukushima) work to stop corrupt general Matthew Shrieve (Marc Singer) from unleashing a pathogen which Ra's al Ghul acquires in the present.
The series was renewed for its third season on February 12, 2014, and began filming in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in that July. Despite a strong critical start for the season premiere, the season received more negative reviews than the previous seasons, and averaged 3.52 million viewers each week. The season would go on to be nominated for eleven nominations in various categories, winning two. This season includes the first annual Arrowverse crossover with spin-off TV series The Flash. The season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 22, 2015. The series was renewed for a fourth season in January 2015.[1]
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (January 11, 2015). "'Arrow,' 'The Flash,' 'Supernatural,' Pretty Much Everything Renewed at The CW". ScreenCrush. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2023.