‘Arrow’ Star Katie Cassidy On Her Character Being Killed Off: “I think it was political.”
Katie Cassidy faced a tough moment in her career when she learned her character, Laurel Lance, also known as Black Canary, would be killed off on the CW show Arrow. She had been part of the series from the start, appearing in its first four seasons. The news came in 2016, catching her off guard just days before the episode was set to film.
She shared her feelings on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast, Inside of You, saying, “I had to eat some humble pie when they killed me off that show. It was really hard.” Cassidy felt a mix of emotions—sadness, shock, and even anger.
She remembered being on a call with producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg, who told her, “Listen, unfortunately I have to tell you you’re the one that’s in the grave.” That moment hit her hard, especially since she loved playing Laurel and had put a lot of effort into the role.
The decision came after the show teased a major death in the Season 4 premiere, showing a grave in a flash-forward. Cassidy didn’t think it would be her character. She was living with Danielle Panabaker from The Flash at the time, who asked, “Are you sure you’re not worried?” Cassidy brushed it off, saying, “No, it’s fine.”
But her gut told her something was up when she got an email from showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle about a meeting. She texted Guggenheim, “I’m fired, aren’t I?” and pushed for a call sooner because she couldn’t wait all weekend at New York Comic Con, where she’d have to face fans.
During that call, her fears were confirmed. She admitted, “I was angry at first. And I was emotional because I was sad, and I was angry because I was so happy.” Cassidy told the producers, “I feel like I’ve always been given the short end of the stick and I have to go.” She didn’t shout—just cried, feeling the loss of a character she cared about deeply. Her co-star Stephen Amell called her right after, saying, “I’m so sorry, I don’t want it to be you.”
Cassidy has ideas about why Laurel was written out. “I have theories. I think it was political,” she said, suggesting it wasn’t just one person’s call but a group decision. Guggenheim later wrote on his blog in April 2023 that “there were still a lot of cooks in the kitchen and very few decisions were made by a single person.” At Comic Con, she had to keep quiet while fans asked about the grave, pretending everything was fine despite knowing the truth.
Her time in the Arrowverse wasn’t over, though. Producer Marc Guggenheim offered her a guest spot on The Flash as Black Siren, Laurel’s Earth-X counterpart. Cassidy jumped at it, saying, “Yes!” The episode did well, and she noted, “I had the support of the fans because that Flash episode I went on … ratings, I guess, were great.”
After Laurel’s death, Arrow’s ratings dipped, and Guggenheim called her again, admitting, “I think we may have made a mistake. Would you come back as a series regular?” She returned to Arrow in Season 6 as Earth-2’s Laurel Lance, feeling “better than ever and happy.”
Reflecting on it, Cassidy sees the value in the story. “Quite frankly, them killing me off… took every other series regular and… sends these other characters spiraling in different directions and reacting,” she said.
She’s grateful for the chance to explore more with her character, even getting a shot at a potential spinoff, Green Arrow and the Canaries, which didn’t move forward. “I think they did a great job in writing for me, quite frankly, and I got a lot to play with,” she added. What started as a painful exit turned into a comeback she’s proud of.
You can watch the whole interview here:
