| Arrow | |
|---|---|
| Season 5 | |
 Home media cover | |
| Showrunners | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Release | |
| Original network | The CW |
| Original release | October 5, 2016 – May 24, 2017 |
| Season chronology | |
The fifth season of the American television series Arrow premiered on The CW on October 5, 2016, and concluded on May 24, 2017, 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 Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle. Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen, with principal cast members David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, and Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance also returning from previous seasons. They are joined by Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt, who was promoted to a series regular from his recurring status in the previous season, and new cast member Josh Segarra.
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 fifth season, Oliver trains a new group of vigilantes consisting of Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez), Curtis Holt / Mister Terrific, Evelyn Sharp / Artemis (Madison McLaughlin), and Rory Regan / Ragman (Joe Dinicol) to join his war on crime following Laurel Lance's death and Diggle and Thea's resignation. He also recruits a new Black Canary; former police detective Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy). Oliver tries to balance vigilantism with his new role as mayor, yet is threatened by the mysterious and deadly Prometheus (Josh Segarra) who has a connection to Oliver's past. Oliver is also forced to contend with Prometheus' ally Black Siren (Katie Cassidy), an Earth-2 criminal doppelganger of Laurel. The season features flashbacks to Oliver's fifth year since he was presumed dead, where he joins the Bratva in Russia as part of a plot to assassinate Konstantin Kovar (Dolph Lundgren). There, he meets and is trained by Talia al Ghul (Lexa Doig), as a hooded archer, before returning to Lian Yu.
The series was renewed for its fifth season on March 11, 2016, and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on July 5, 2016, and ended in April 2017. The season received positive reviews from critics who viewed it as an improvement over the third and fourth seasons. This season includes the third annual Arrowverse crossover with TV series The Flash and new spin-off Legends of Tomorrow, and also features Kara Danvers / Supergirl from Supergirl. The season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 18 and 19, 2017. The series was renewed for a sixth season on January 8, 2017.[1]
- ^ Jayson, Jay (January 8, 2017). "The CW Renews Arrow, Supernatural, Crazy Ex and 4 Others". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2023.