Greg Berlanti Reflects on The CW’s ‘Incredibly Challenging’ Arrowverse

Greg Berlanti is reflecting on his joyful yet “incredibly challenging” experience creating Arrowverse shows.

The CW ‘s Arrowverse ran for several years, with The Flash ’s series finale “A New World, Part Four” serving as the last entry. Berlanti, who had a hand in a majority of the Arrowverse shows, has been regarded as a prolific figure in the DC series landscape.

“It was a moment in time for me and one plan, the size and the scope of which we were altogether able to achieve. The closeness that I had with many of the actors, and still have, and other writers and directors and the family that we built over that time. And the opportunity where every year we were doing these big crossover episodes and all the different showrunners would come in from all the different shows,” Berlanti told Deadline .

The DC franchise is now in the hands of James Gunn and Peter Safran . While working on the Arrowverse has been “such a joy” for Berlanti, he thinks it’s time for new voices to tell the stories of the beloved characters.

“To create in that way was such a joy and incredibly challenging. But it is nothing I would try and replicate again at this moment. That felt very singular. I love Warner Bros. I wish them all the best with these amazing characters,” he added. “We had a credo that I would say to everybody all the time, which is, we’re so lucky to have these characters. Let’s return them to the shelf more valuable than when we took them off. It was very much about that, and trying to build a world and a place where everybody who loved them as much as we did could come and tell stories. Now I think it’s time for new; the torch has been passed beautifully, and I’m really excited by all they’re doing there now.”

What were the Arrowverse shows?

Arrowverse contains interconnected DC shows, starting with the Stephen Amell-led Arrow. The show ran from 2012 to 2019, spanning eight episodes. It was followed by The Flash in 2014, and Legends of Tomorrow in 2016. Rounding out the list are Supergirl, Black Lightning, Batwoman, and the two Arrowverse web series, Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray.