Arrow’s backdoor pilot for spinoff most-watched ep of the season, outside of Crisis

The CW's Arrow picked up its story in the post-Crisis reality this week, just not in the era fans might’ve expected. The first episode back after the crossover was the planted spinoff for future-set spinoff Green Arrow & the Canaries, and if early numbers are any indication, it’s looking to be a hit.

Overnight ratings data shows the backdoor pilot episode “Green Arrow & the Canaries” is Arrow’s highest rated episode of the season behind the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover installment, meaning more folks actually tuned in to see Mia, Laurel and Dinah than have been keeping up with Oliver in the final season overall. Per TV Line, the episode drew 921,000 total viewers and a 0.3 rating. That kept it level with the demo when compared to the fall finale. 

The episode kept some core cast members from the Arrow world around, and brought a few more in with some unique time travel twists and surprises. The story found Dinah and Laurel “waking up” Mia from the reality of her life in this new Earth Prime, restoring her memories of the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. They also packed in a ton of threads that could be pulled out in an eventual series, including a mystery baddie pulling the strings and the cliffhanger kidnapping of William. Here’s our full rundown of the episode’s twists and turns.

No word yet on if The CW will place a series order for the spinoff, but if the numbers are any indication, it stands to reason Green Arrow & the Canaries could be the network’s next new super series (alongside the already-ordered Superman & Lois).

Though Arrow did well, the proper season premiere of fellow Arrowverse series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow landed with series lows. The Season 5 return had 721,000 viewers with a 0.2 demo rating. Thankfully for fans, the series has already been renewed for a sixth season.