User:Brojam/sandbox6

Development
In January 2012, The CW ordered a pilot for Arrow, revolving around the character Green Arrow and developed by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim. Stephen Amell was cast in the titular role. When developing the series, Guggenheim expressed that the creative team wanted to "chart [their] own course, [their] own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to the series Smallville, which featured its own Green Arrow (Justin Hartley). In July 2013, it was announced that Berlanti, Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns would be creating a spin-off television series based on The Flash. The character, played by actor Grant Gustin, was set to appear in three episodes of Arrow's second season, with the third acting as a backdoor pilot for the new series, though a traditional pilot was eventually ordered instead.

In January 2015, the CW announced that an animated web-series featuring the DC heroine Vixen would be debuting on CW Seed in late 2015 and be set in the same universe as both Arrow and The Flash. Amell and Gustin reprise their respective roles in the series, and the character of Vixen was expected to make a live-action appearance on The Flash and/or Arrow as well. The next month, it was reported that another spin-off series, described as a superhero team-up show, was being discussed by The CW for a possible 2015–16 midseason release. Berlanti, Kreisberg, Guggenheim, and Sarah Schechter would executive produce the potential series, which would be headlined by several recurring characters from both Arrow and The Flash. That May, the CW officially confirmed DC's Legends of Tomorrow for a January 2016 premiere. Pedowitz later stated, "There is no intention, at this point, to spin anything else off" to add to the universe, though after Vixen was renewed for a second season he said that, "Hopefully, that character could actually spin itself out, if not, maybe join as one of the Legends" in Legends of Tomorrow.

In August 2015, in a video about the production of Vixen's first season, Guggenheim referred to the series' shared universe as the "Arrowverse", which Kreisberg confirmed was the name the producers use for it. The universe has also been referred to by the media as the "Flarrowverse", "Berlanti-verse" and "DC TV-verse". In October, additional Arrow showrunner Wendy Mericle revealed that the producers had begun having someone track all the characters and plots used by each series, in order to make sure everything lines up, though The Flash executive producer Aaron Helbing noted in April 2016 that "sometimes the schedules don’t line up exactly...and that stuff is out of our control", such as when the Flash is shown using his abilities on Arrow that month, while not having them the same week on The Flash.

In August 2016, the CW announced the animated web-series Freedom Fighters: The Ray for CW Seed, with the intent of the actor cast as Raymond "Ray" Terrill to appear in the live-action series, much like Mari McCabe / Vixen. The following January, the animated web-series Constantine was announced, also for CW Seed. Matt Ryan was revealed to be reprising his role as John Constantine, after making a guest appearing in Arrow's fourth season, as well as in the short-lived live-action series. Pedowitz stated there were no plans "at this point in time" for Ryan to appear in any of the Arrowverse live-action series and noted there had yet to be discussions regarding if any other characters that appeared in the cancelled live-action series to appear in the web series, nor if this version of the character would "connect back to the live action storylines he's been a part of." Berlanti, Schechter and David S. Goyer will serve as executive producers, with Goyer having been one of the creators of the live-action series.

Arrow (2012–2020)
Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen returns home after being stranded on a deserted island for five years. Upon his return to Starling City, Oliver rekindles his relationships and spends his nights hunting down wealthy criminals as a hooded vigilante.

On January 12, 2012, The CW was preparing a new series centered around the character Green Arrow, developed by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim. A week later, the series, now known as Arrow, was ordered to pilot, which was directed by David Nutter, who also directed the pilot for Smallville, a series following Clark Kent on his journey to become Superman. At the end of the month, Stephen Amell was cast in the titular role of Oliver Queen. When developing the series, producer Marc Guggenheim expressed that the creative team wanted to "chart [their] own course, [their] own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to Smallville, which featured its own Green Arrow / Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), opting to cast a new actor in the role of Oliver Queen.

The series was renewed for a second season on February 11, 2013, a third on February 12, 2014, a fourth on January 11, 2015, a fifth on March 11, 2016, a sixth on January 8, 2017, a seventh on April 2, 2018, and a final eighth season on January 31, 2019.

The Flash (2014–present)
Crime-scene investigator Barry Allen awakens from a nine-month coma after being struck by lightning due to the S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator explosion and finds himself with superhuman speed. Barry vows to use his new powers to protect Central City as the Flash, a masked superhero, while he pursues his mother's murderer, the Reverse-Flash.

In July 2013, it was announced that Berlanti, Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns were developing a series based on Barry Allen / Flash. In September 2013, Grant Gustin was cast in the titular role. The character was set to appear in three episodes of Arrow's second season, with the final one acting as a backdoor pilot for the new series. However, it was announced in November 2013 that the planned backdoor pilot was cancelled in favor of a traditional pilot by The CW executives impressed by early cuts of Barry's first two appearances on Arrow, with a pilot ordered in January 2014. On May 8, 2014, The CW officially ordered The Flash to series. The series was renewed for a second season on January 11, 2015, a third on March 11, 2016, a fourth on January 8, 2017, a fifth on April 2, 2018, a sixth on January 31, 2019, and a seventh on January 7, 2020.

Supergirl (2015–present)
Kara Zor-El, who was sent to Earth from Krypton as a 13-year-old and taken in by the Danvers family, must learn to embrace her powers after previously hiding them. After an unexpected disaster, Kara is forced to reveal her powers, and becomes National City's protector.

On May 12, 2016, the series was renewed for a second season by The CW, resulting in Supergirl moving to the network. The series was renewed for a third on January 8, 2017, a fourth on April 2, 2018, a fifth on January 31, 2019, and a final sixth on January 7, 2020.

Legends of Tomorrow (2016–present)
Rip Hunter travels back in time to the present day where he brings together a team of heroes and villains in an attempt to prevent Vandal Savage from destroying the world and time itself.

In February 2015, it was reported that a spin-off series, described as a superhero team-up show, was in discussion by The CW for a possible 2015-16 midseason release. Berlanti and Kreisberg would executive produce alongside Guggenheim and Sarah Schechter. The potential series would be headlined by several recurring characters from both Arrow and The Flash, including Ray Palmer / Atom (Brandon Routh), Leonard Snart / Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), Martin Stein / Firestorm (Victor Garber), Mick Rory / Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell), and Sara Lance / White Canary (Caity Lotz), with the potential for more Arrow/Flash characters to cross over to the new series. In March 2015, Arthur Darvill was cast as the time traveler Rip Hunter. That May, The CW officially ordered DC's Legends of Tomorrow to series. The series was renewed for a second season on March 11, 2016, a third on January 8, 2017, a fourth on April 2, 2018, a fifth on January 31, 2019, and a sixth on January 7, 2020.

Black Lightning (2018–present)
High school principal Jefferson Pierce, who retired from his superhero persona Black Lightning nine years ago after seeing the effects it had on his family, is forced to become a vigilante again when the rise of the local gang called The 100 led by Tobias Whale leads to increased crime and corruption in his community of Freeland.

Batwoman (2019–present)
Kate Kane must overcome her own demons before being able to protect the streets of Gotham as Batwoman and becoming their symbol of hope.

In July 2018, it was revealed that The CW was developing a script for a potential series centered on Batwoman, intending to launch it after the character debuted in the "Elseworlds" crossover event. The series, if picked up, would be written by Caroline Dries, with plans to air in 2019. In August, Ruby Rose was cast as Kate Kane / Batwoman. In January 2019, Batwoman received a pilot pick-up from The CW, and the series was officially ordered on May 7. The series was renewed for a second season on January 7, 2020.

Superman & Lois
Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane cope with the stresses and difficulties of becoming parents.

In October 2019, a Superman & Lois spin-off series entered development with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch reprising their roles as Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane from Supergirl. The pilot script was written by former The Flash showrunner Todd Helbing, who also serves as executive producer. In January 2020, The CW officially ordered Superman & Lois to series.

Vixen (2015–2016)
After her parents were killed in Africa by local corruption, Mari McCabe inherits her family's Tantu Totem, gaining the powers of animals, using them to fight as Vixen to stop threats like those that claimed her family.

In January 2015, The CW announced that a six-episode animated web-series centered on Vixen would be debuting on CW Seed in late 2015, and would be set in the same universe as both Arrow and The Flash. Megalyn Echikunwoke stars as Mari McCabe / Vixen. Amell and Gustin reprise their roles as Oliver Queen and Barry Allen, respectively, and Echikunwoke reprises her role in a live-action appearance in the fourth season of Arrow. A second season was ordered on January 10, 2016.

Freedom Fighters: The Ray (2017–2018)
Raymond "Ray" Terrill is a reporter who gains light-based powers after being exposed to a genetic light bomb. Ray discovers the bomb in his investigation of a secret government project attempting to harness the power of light and weaponize it. The Ray is a member of the Freedom Fighters on Earth-X, a world in the multiverse where the Nazis won World War II.

In August 2016, The CW announced the animated web-series Freedom Fighters: The Ray for CW Seed, intending that the actor cast as Ray Terrill would appear in the live-action series, much like Mari McCabe / Vixen. In September 2017, it was revealed that Russell Tovey would be voicing Ray Terrill in the series.

Green Arrow and the Canaries
In August 2019, it was reported that another Arrow spin-off was in development. In September, it was reported that The CW was developing a female led Arrow spin-off series with Katherine McNamara, Katie Cassidy and Juliana Harkavy as the leads. The report also confirmed that an episode of Arrow's final season would serve as a "backdoor pilot" for the potential series. The following month, Guggenheim released an image indicating Green Arrow and the Canaries as a potential name for the show. The episode aired on January 21, 2020, as part of said season.