When Oliver was brought together with his son William in Season 5, it had Arrow creators worried. Their story gains significance in Season 6, which premieres in October.
Series co-creator Marc Guggenheim indicated in an interview at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that it could have had serious repercussions for the show. But the performances of Stephen Amell, who plays Green Arrow Oliver Queen, and Jack Moore, who plays his son William, saved it.
“It’s a question that we’ve spent a lot of time talking about because it is a huge third rail, bringing on the kid,” said Guggenheim when asked how they avoided the pitfalls of bringing a child into the series. “Especially with a superhero show that’s grim and gritty.”
But their fears were laid to rest as soon as filming was underway: “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Stephen. Watching dailies between him and Jack, it’s great. It’s like, this could have been a disaster but the performances really ground it. We can write whatever but if we don’t have great actors who really sell the emotional reality of that relationship, it falls flat.”
He added, “Thank you to Stephen and Jack for helping us avoid what could be a series-ending mistake.”
Season 6 will have the overarching theme of family, exploring not only traditional biological notions of family – such as the relationship between father and son – but also “found” families.
Guggenheim explained, “Last year was very much about the building up of this team, team Arrow. We saw new faces in the bunker, and by the end of the season that fraught relationship at the beginning with Oliver and the recruits had really gelled into a very cool working relationship. But off the events of the season finale we’re screwing up that a little bit, we’re playing around with it. I would say last year we built a car and this year we’re taking the car out for a spin.”
Season 6 of Arrow premieres on October 12.