Katie Cassidy Shares Her Speculations on Why She Was Let Go from Arrow

Katie Cassidy didn’t expect to leave Arrow — and she has her own theories about why it happened.

“Happy to be here, easy to work with. That’s my motto,” Cassidy, 38, explained on the Tuesday, March 18 episode of the “Inside of You” podcast. Host Michael Rosenbaum asked if she had kept that motto while on the Arrow set, to which she responded, “Let me say this: I had to swallow my pride when they killed my character off. It was really tough.”

Cassidy reminisced about the plot twist regarding the grave introduced in the season 4 premiere, suspecting her character, Laurel Lance, would be the one to die — and she was right.

“I was in disbelief because the very next day I was in New York heading to Comic-Con with my entire cast. Initially, I was angry. I was emotional because I felt sadness and anger at the same time. I was so happy [working on the show],” she reflected. “There were a few reasons [for the decision]. I have my theories. I think there was a political aspect to it. It’s complicated.”

Even though she has always been “a professional” on set, Cassidy allowed herself a moment of “anger.”

“I told the executive producers, ‘I feel like I’ve always been dealt a rough hand, and I need to go,’” she continued. “I didn’t raise my voice; I just cried because I was heartbroken. I put a lot of effort into that show and that character. I adored it.”

Arrow aired on The CW from 2012 to 2020 and was based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow. After four seasons, Cassidy was written off as Laurel Lance but later returned as Earth-2 counterpart Black Siren during a crossover with the spinoff The Flash. Following viewer backlash over her character’s exit, Cassidy was asked to return to Arrow.

“Unfortunately, after my character’s death, I think the ratings dipped a bit. But then I received a call after The Flash aired asking, ‘Will you come back as a series regular? We might have made a mistake,’” she recounted. “That was during season 6; I had been a recurring character in season 5. Then I returned, better than ever.”

Cassidy has previously stated that the decision for her character’s death wasn’t hers to make.

“Honestly, I believe that being killed off the show was, in hindsight, very beneficial for me because, like I said, sometimes life knocks you down,” she told TVLine in 2020. “I didn’t want to be killed off — to be truthful, I felt sad, but I also understood the decision. I wasn’t mad or bitter; I recognized that it’s part of TV. It gave writers the opportunity to explore how other characters respond to a lead’s death.”

Cassidy added: “Going through that experience made me realize I was lucky — the universe seems to work in our favor if we let it — and they brought me back soon after. For that, I am so thankful. You end up experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions, and it’s important to find grounding and show gratitude for everything. I truly appreciate the lesson I learned from that.”

She remained with the series for its eighth and final season and was set to star in a potential spinoff, Green Arrow and the Canaries, which ultimately did not proceed.