Green Arrow & The Canaries

"Green Arrow & The Canaries" (also known as "Livin' in the Future") is the ninth episode of the eighth season of the American television series Arrow, based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, revolving around billionaire playboy Oliver Queen as he returns to Starling City (later renamed Star City), after having been shipwrecked for five years, and becomes a bow-wielding, hooded vigilante who sets out to fight crime and corruption. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe. The episode was written by showrunners Beth Schwartz and Marc Guggenheim alongside Jill Blankenship and Oscar Balderrama, and directed by Tara Miele.

"Green Arrow & The Canaries"
Arrow episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 9
Directed byTara Miele
Written by
  • Beth Schwartz
  • Marc Guggenheim
  • Jill Blankenship
  • Oscar Balderrama
Production codeT27.13959
Original air dateJanuary 21, 2020 (2020-01-21)
Guest appearance(s)

Principal cast members Juliana Harkavy, Katherine McNamara, Ben Lewis, Joseph David-Jones and Katie Cassidy appear. The episode is the only one not to feature series star Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen / Green Arrow. Set in 2040, it focuses Oliver's daughter Mia Smoak joining forces Laurel Lance and Dinah Drake to rescue a kidnapped woman.

"Green Arrow & The Canaries" first aired in the United States on The CW on January 21, 2020 and was watched live by 0.89 million viewers with a 0.3/2 share among adults aged 18 to 49, marking a season high in overnight ratings. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Though it was developed as a backdoor pilot for a potential Arrow spin-off series named Green Arrow and the Canaries, that series was ultimately not picked up by The CW.

Plot

In 2040, two decades after Oliver Queen's sacrifice saved the universe,[lower-alpha 1] crime in Star City has been quiet, Oliver's daughter Mia Smoak has led a successful life with her fiancé John Diggle "J.J." Jr., and Zoe Ramirez is alive. When Helena Bertinelli's daughter Bianca goes missing, Laurel Lance requests Dinah Drake's help in finding her. She then recruits a reluctant Mia, restoring her pre-Crisis memories with Martian technology developed by Cisco Ramon, and manages to convince her to take on the mantle of Green Arrow. Mia, Dinah, and Laurel rescue Bianca from the captivity of her ex-boyfriend Trevor, possessing a Deathstroke mask. Just as Mia learns that he is working for someone else, Trevor sets off the gas line and escapes. Afterwards, Dinah decides to establish the Canary Network. At Oliver's memorial, Mia recognizes the hōzen that William Clayton was given as a teenager as a tattoo on Trevor's hand before being tranquilized by masked men who make off with William and leave Mia behind. Elsewhere at the same time, a mysterious figure ambushes J.J. and uses the same Martian technology to restore his pre-Crisis memories, telling J.J. that he "needs him".

Production

Development

In September 2019, it was announced that The CW was developing a female-led spin-off series of Arrow, with Katherine McNamara, Katie Cassidy, and Juliana Harkavy as the leads, reprising their roles from Arrow. The report also confirmed that an episode of Arrow's eighth and final season would serve as a backdoor pilot for the potential series.[1] In October, Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim released an image indicating Green Arrow and the Canaries as the name for the new series.[2] In January 2020, Guggenheim stated that when Arrow was renewed for its final season, series star Stephen Amell was contracted only for nine episodes; The CW later asked Guggenheim for an additional episode to bring the season's count to 10 episodes. Guggenheim realized this episode could become the backdoor pilot for the potential series, so he agreed.[3]

The episode, which is the season's ninth, was originally intended to be titled after the Bruce Springsteen song "Livin' in the Future", continuing the series' tradition of having the penultimate episode of every season titled after a Springsteen song. Because the studio mandated that the backdoor pilot be titled "Green Arrow & The Canaries," after the planned spin-off series, the writers were forced to scrap the original title, though Guggenheim considers it the "real" title.[4] The episode was directed by Tara Miele, and written by season 8 co-showrunner Beth Schwartz, Guggenheim, Jill Blankenship and Oscar Balderrama.[5]

Casting

"Green Arrow & The Canaries" is the only episode of the series not to feature Amell, due to the death of his character Oliver Queen in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event.[6][7] Main cast members Harkavy, McNamara, Ben Lewis, Joseph David-Jones and Cassidy return as Dinah Drake / Black Canary, Mia Queen, William Clayton, Connor Hawke and Laurel Lance / Black Canary.[lower-alpha 2] The guest cast includes Charlie Barnett as John Diggle Jr., Andrea Sixtos as Zoe Ramirez, Raigan Harris as Bianca Bertinelli and Chad Duell as Trevor.[9]

Filming

The episode was filmed in October 2019.[10]

Reception

Ratings

The episode premiered in the United States on The CW on January 21, 2020. It was watched live by 0.89 million viewers with a 0.3/2 share among adults aged 18 to 49,[11] marking a season high in overnight ratings.[12]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 86% approval rating for the episode, based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 7.06/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Although its placement as a penultimate epilogue to Arrow may give fans mixed feelings, there's no denying that "Green Arrow & the Canaries" is a tantalizing backdoor pilot for a new band of distinctive rogues."[13] Chancellor Agard of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "As I watched, I couldn't stop thinking about how odd it is that this is Arrow's penultimate episode. When it ended, it didn't feel like we were heading toward the series finale. Nevertheless, I still had a lot of fun watching it."[14] Delia Harrington of Den of Geek wrote, “Green Arrow & the Canaries” pulls off something pretty impressive in just an hour, managing to answer many questions about how the Crisis on Infinite Earths affected Arrow’s corner of the Arrowverse while the backdoor pilot gave the audience a sense of what the new show’s vibe would be and, perhaps most importantly of all, setting up a number of mysteries to make a spinoff feel like essential viewing."[15] Allison Shoemaker of The A.V. Club wrote, "Does "Green Arrow & The Canaries" work as an argument for the existence of Green Arrow & The Canaries, the future series? Yes. Does it work as one of the final chapters of Arrow? Also yes, though somewhat less successfully."[16]

Future

In June 2020, Guggenheim said that, should the planned series not be picked up, he would potentially resolve the cliffhangers introduced in the episode in a comic book.[17] In January 2021, The CW officially passed on the spin-off.[18] Guggenheim said this decision was made at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Guggenheim feeling the pandemic was the "deciding factor" in not moving forward with the series.[19]

Notes
  1. As depicted in "Crisis on Infinite Earths".
  2. Despite the "special appearance" bill, Cassidy is still considered part of the main cast.[8]

References
  1. Porter, Rick; Goldberg, Lesley (September 24, 2019). "'Arrow': Female-Led Spinoff in the Works at The CW". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. Burlingame, Russ (October 15, 2019). "Arrow Spinoff Teased With "Green Arrow and the Canaries" Comic Book Mock-Up". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  3. Holbrook, Damian (January 15, 2020). "We Have Questions! Marc Guggenheim on the 'Crisis' Cameo & Casualty". TV Insider. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. Guggenheim, Marc [@mguggenheim] (November 2, 2019). "Unfortunately, the studio required us to officially title the episode after the planned spinoff, thus demonstrating no respect for tradition. Therefore, I would appreciate it if we could all just agree that the REAL title of 809 is "Livin' In the Future." Thank you all" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. "(#809) "Green Arrow & The Canaries"". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. Abdulbaki, Mae (November 19, 2019). "Why Oliver Queen Won't Appear In Arrow's Last Episode Before The Series Finale". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. Alvarez, Daniel (March 18, 2020). "Stephen Amell Didn't Watch Arrow Season 8's Canaries Spinoff Episode – Here's Why". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  8. Mitovich, Matt Webb (October 16, 2019). "Arrow/The Flash: Burning Qs Answered About Earth-Two, the New Hood, Canaries Spinoff Set-Up and More". TVLine. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  9. Grunenwald, Joe (January 22, 2020). "Recap: ARROW S8E9 – "Green Arrow & The Canaries"". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. Damore, Meagan (October 21, 2019). "Green Arrow & the Canaries Pilot Announces Start of Filming with Video". CBR. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  11. Welch, Alex (January 23, 2020). "'NCIS,' 'The Conners,' all others hold: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  12. Mitovich, Matt (January 22, 2020). "Ratings: Arrow Spinoff Targets Season High in Viewers, Legends Returns Down". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  13. "Arrow – Season 8 Episode 9". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  14. Agard, Chancellor (January 21, 2020). "'Arrow' recap: Livin' in the future". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  15. Harrington, Delia (January 22, 2020). "Arrow Season 8 Episode 9 Review: Green Arrow & The Canaries". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  16. Shoemaker, Allison (January 21, 2020). "The Arrowverse opens the door for Green Arrow & The Canaries". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  17. Mitovich, Matt Webb (June 17, 2020). "How Arrow Spinoff Mysteries Might Be Resolved If Pilot Isn't Picked Up". TVLine. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  18. Andreeva, Nellie (January 8, 2021). "'Arrow' Spinoff 'Green Arrow and The Canaries' Not Going Forward At the CW, 'The 100' Prequel Still Alive". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  19. Burlingame, Russ (January 8, 2021). "Arrow Co-Creator Reacts to Green Arrow and the Canaries Announcement". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
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