ARROW Picked Up by The CW for Fall 2012

After a year off, the DC Universe is returning to The CW television network this fall. 

Deadline reports that The CW has picked up Arrow, a hourlong superhero drama series based on DC Comics' character Green Arrow that was first announced to be in development back in January.  The series is one of five new scripted dramas going to series, including Sex And The City prequel The Carrie Diaries, a modern reboot of 1980s series Beauty and the Beast, mystery Cult and medical drama First Cut.

Unless there are last-minute casting changes before the premiere, Arrow stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Katie Cassidy as Laurel, Susanna Thompson as Oliver's mother Moira, Colin Donnell as Tommy, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen and Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance.  The show's official description is as follows:

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific.  When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island.  While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was.  Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory.  By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness.  However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city.  Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.

Based on characters appearing in comic books and graphic novels published by DC Comics, ARROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Green Lantern,” “Brothers &Sisters”), Marc Guggenheim (“FlashForward,” “Eli Stone”), Andrew Kreisberg (“Warehouse 13,” “The Vampire Diaries”) and David Nutter (“Smallville,” “Supernatural,” “Game of Thrones”).  Melissa Kellner Berman (“Eli Stone,” “Dirty Sexy Money”) is co-executive producer.  The pilot was directed by David Nutter from a teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg & Marc Guggenheim, story by Greg Berlanti & Marc Guggenheim.