Posted in: Arrow, CW, Preview, Starz, TV | Tagged: arrow, arrowverse, cw, heels, oliver queen, starz, stephen amell

Greg Berlanti & "Green" Arrow Convinced Stephen Amell to Return

It's been two years since he rocked the bow and quiver as Oliver Queen on The CW's Arrow, but that doesn't mean folks are going to stop asking him about it any time soon. But just when we think Stephen Amell is done surprising us about the long-running Arrowverse series (like how he pitched a "Season 9"- more on that in a minute), he opens up to the Hero Nation podcast with Deadline Hollywood's Dominic Patten and Anthony D'Alessandro. During the podcast, Amell has a lot to say about the show heading into its final two seasons. Basically, that he didn't want to come back for them. From a creative standpoint, he believes that the show had "done everything" it could after six seasons and that the filming structure had become too formulaic. Amell also found it "frustrating" how the series was always passed over for recognition and awards consideration. While Amell makes it a point of giving individuals their due, it was pretty surprising to hear just how creatively burnt out he was by the time the sixth season wrapped. So who convinced him to stay? Arrow producer Greg Berlanti– and it looks like it took Amell becoming "Green" Arrow in an entirely different way for it to happen.

"I just thought that I had another year, and I thought that I had more in the tank, more that I wanted to share with this industry and this career that I've chosen, and I wanted to be inspired again," Amell explained. "So Greg Berlanti, who's way smarter than I am, as evidenced by his prolific nature in film and television, convinced me… He basically put me to a place where it would've been fiscally irresponsible to not do a seventh season and then complete it with a truncated eighth season" (you can check out the entire podcast episode for yourselves below). What's interesting is how much Amell's attitude changed not long after the series wrapped- when he pitched a "Season 9" of sorts.

During his appearance on the Inside of You podcast with host Michael Rosenbaum in November 2020, Amell revealed that there was a time over that summer when production on Heels was riddled with huge question marks. But since Amell was already quarantining, wanting to work, and on stomping grounds that he got to know for eight seasons of Arrow, he decided to give Berlanti a call. 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 of Arrow or at least keep it "on the radar," as Amell asked Berlanti to do:

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