The CW's The Flash seems to still be going strong even after losing 2 of its original cast members this year. Season 7 saw plenty of world-shaking changes, including the departure of certain characters and the introduction of others, leading some to believe that it was leading up to a big finale soon. But if there's one in the works, it turns out the folks behind this series might have more time to plan it out than originally thought.
Series regular Jesse L. Martin (Joe West), Danielle Panabaker (Dr. Caitlin Snow/Frost), and Candice Patton (Iris West-Allen) have just signed new contracts extending their time on The Flash through the upcoming season 8 at the very least. While the season itself was already greenlit, the only O.G. cast member who'd already signed on for it up until this point was Grant Gustin (Barry Allen/The Flash). Looks like the majority of Team Flash is staying intact for the foreseeable future.
This news, first reported by Deadline, comes just after a rather hilarious (perhaps unintentionally so) attempt to hide Patton's absence from the most recent episode, involving Barry interacting with Iris entirely through one-sided conversations in the immortal style of Bob Newhart. So while some fans may have seen this as a sign that things might be changing, the new contracts seem to solidify a touch of the familiar going forward.
The Flash has already seen its fair share of big changes, even aside from the loss of several prominent cast members. Hartley Sawyer (Ralph Dibny/The Elongated Man) was fired from the show for some offensive comments last year, but his loss was offset a bit by the inclusion of new-ish characters Allegra Garcia (Kayla Compton) and Chester P. Runk (Brandon McKnight) joining the main cast. Aside from actor changes, the characters themselves saw a fair amount of shake-ups as well, including Martin's Joe West resigning as Captain of the Central City Police and Panabaker's Frost going to prison for a life sentence in a rather impactful scene (which was diminished somewhat by her release several episodes later).
The Flash is currently The CW's most long-running "Arrowverse" series on the air, following the cancellation of Arrow in 2020. So some might be wondering if that means it's nearing its own end as well. With series like Stargirl and Batwoman currently showing off some truly engaging storytelling in The CW's DC Universe, it wouldn't be surprising to see the network slowly trying to pass the metaphorical torch.
Still, if the end is near for Barry and the rest of Team Flash, at least the show's cast and crew have plenty of time to prepare a fitting end for these characters audiences have grown to love. Plus, there's always the chance for some cameos in the future. This is The CW, after all. They start to get the shakes if they don't do a regular crossover.
The Flash airs on The CW.
Source: Deadline