This is kind of old news at this point, but last Tuesday ComicBookResources put up a video interview with Arrow executive producer/writer Marc Guggenheim in which he reflected on season 1 of the show and looked forward to season 2.
Here is a bit of what he had to say:
On balancing the will they/won’t they aspect of Oliver and Laurel’s relationship on “Arrow”:
“I think any time you do a TV show, and you’ve got two people together who are star-crossed lovers and they’re destined to be together, but you don’t want them together because you run into the ‘Moonlighting’ problem of your two main characters, once they actually end up together, in a committed relationship, then it seems to lose all of its sexual spark. The little magic trick that we have to do with Oliver and Laurel is, keep bringing them together and pulling them apart, bringing them together and pulling them apart.”
On Oliver’s journey from vigilante to hero and what it will mean for the show:
On the success of the digital-fist “Arrow” comic and the benefit of tying it directly into the television show:
“The trade paperback drops in September, the day after the Blu-ray and DVD of “Arrow” season 1 — it’s very nicely timed! Corporate synergy, man! It’s the future! I’ve been trying to [figure out], what can we do to publicize this, because again, our audience is not just the comic book fans, but the fans of the show. In fact during hiatus, I think a lot of people — I’ve been getting messages on Twitter and such — [asking] “Where can I pick up this ‘Arrow’ digital comic?” Which is kind of cool! And hopefully [the comic] will have an even bigger audience once the trade comes out. It’s almost a full-time job publicizing any comic book, but I think it’s a fun aspect of the show because, for me — I’ve never seen a show have a comic book tie in that was done contemporaneously with the show, by the people involved in the show. And if you go back and look at a lot of those comics, you’ll see subtle little references to stuff that paid off only in the [season] finale.”
Head over to ComicBookResources.com to see the full interview. From their transcript of the interview, you can also read Guggenheim explaining how some of the mistakes he feels the show made in its first season stemmed mostly from them trying to do too much in the early episodes.
Thanks to Korinna, a frequent commenter on this site, for making sure I was aware of this interview with Guggenheim.
Apparently, Guggenheim’s statement regarding the Laurel/Oliver relationship has caused some minor unrest from both those who prefer that Oliver’s gal-pal be blonde, bespectacled, and named Felicity as well as those who are simply tired of the will they/won’t they dynamic. I think anyone who suffered through all 10 seasons of Smallville could make a justifiable argument against a comic book show going all in on a will they/won’t they. However, in a recent interview on the Empire Magazine podcast geek god Joss Whedon argued that will they/won’t in drama goes at least as far back as Shakespeare, especially Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. So, what, are you all saying you’re too good for Shakespeare, or, worse yet, too good for Joss Whedon? For shame! I said good day, sir (or madam)!
Guggenheim’s statement about Laurel and Oliver is so generic you could actually remove the character’s names and insert any number of other potentially romantic couples in television and it would still work. His is a statement many other EPs of past shows have made about their show’s central romantic couple. However, for a show with a central character with no shortage of pretty and willing women around him, Arrow’s first season didn’t rely as heavily upon will they/won’t they as an easy source of tension nearly as often as it easily could have. Let’s see how this shakes out. Heck, they only just started filming the second season.
Stephen Amell & Katie Cassidy at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con
Also, the official synopsis for who and what to expect for the Arrow presentation at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con has been announced. The Arrow Q&A session will be on Saturday, July 20:
5:15PM – 6:00PM Arrow Special Video Presentation and Q&A Ballroom 20
After failing to foil Malcolm Merlyn’s undertaking, Oliver Queen and team look to get back on track by crossing another name off the list: Comic-Con 2013. Arrow series stars Stephen Amell (Hung), Katie Cassidy (Melrose Place), David Ramsey (Dexter), Emily Bett Rickards (Flicka: Country Pride), and Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf) — with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Marc Guggenheim (Eli Stone), and Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe)-will take aim at San Diego with a special video presentation and panel discussion previewing the show’s upcoming and much-buzzed-about second season, which will center on Oliver’s transformation from vigilante to hero. Arrow: The Complete First Season will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet on September 17. 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. The series returns for a second season this fall, airing Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
[Comic-Con.org via ksitetv.com]
What does this mean? Well, for those fortunate enough to go to Comic-Con it means a high likelihood of having a good time. For those who aren’t it mostly just means to expect there to be a lot of stories about Arrow that weekend from people at the convention covering what the stars/producers/writers say (and don’t say) about the upcoming season. Oh, the awkwardness which might ensue if Felicity/Oliver shippers engage in open warfare with the Laurel/Oliver shippers in the audience.
How much longer do we have to wait for season 2? Arrow is scheduled to premiere its second season in the US on the CW on October 9th.
