The fifth season of the American television series ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'', which is based on the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

character

Barry Allen / Flash Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

, premiered on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

on October 9, 2018, and concluded on May 14, 2019, with a total of 22 episodes. The season follows Barry dealing with the consequences of his future daughter's time traveling, while confronting a new foe, Orlin Dwyer. It is set in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...

, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe, and is a spin-off of ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

''. The season was produced by

Berlanti Productions Berlanti Productions (formerly known as Berlanti-Liddell Productions and Berlanti Television) is an American film and television production company founded by screenwriter, producer and filmmaker Greg Berlanti and producer Mickey Liddell in 2000 ...

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television (abbreviated as WBTV; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division), is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio o ...

, and

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and is based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery which manages DC Comics characters by working with other units ...

, with

Todd Helbing Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing are American sibling screenwriters who had formerly worked as a team. They are known for their work on the Starz series ''Spartacus'' and '' Black Sails'', and for The CW superhero drama ''The Flash''. They stoppe ...

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

. The season was ordered in April 2018, and production began that July.

Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash'' (2014–2023) as part of the Arrowverse and as Sebastian Smythe on the Fox series ''Gl ...

stars as Barry, with principal cast members

Candice Patton Candice Patton (born ) is an American actress. She portrayed Iris West-Allen in the 2014 television series ''The Flash''. Early life Patton was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Plano, Texas. She attended Southern Methodist Univer ...

Danielle Panabaker Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney films ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), ''Sky High (2005 film), ...

, Carlos Valdes,

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in ''Ed (TV series), Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and ''Trust Me (American TV series) ...

, and Jesse L. Martin also returning from previous seasons, while

Hartley Sawyer Hartley Sawyer (born January 25, 1985) is an American former actor known as Brian Sommers on '' Glory Daze'' (2010–11), Kyle Abbott on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2013–14), and Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man on ''The Flash'' (2017–20). ...

Danielle Nicolet Danielle Nicolet (born Danielle Diggs; November 24, 1973) is an American actress known for roles on ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001), '' Second Time Around'' (2004–05), '' The Starter Wife'' (2008), ''Family Tools'' (2013), '' Born Agai ...

, and

Jessica Parker Kennedy Jessica Parker Kennedy (born October 3, 1984) is a Canadian actress known as Melissa Glaser in '' The Secret Circle'', Max on '' Black Sails'' and Nora West-Allen / XS in ''The Flash.'' She also had guest roles on ''Smallville'', '' Undercovers' ...

were promoted to series regulars from their recurring status in season four. They are joined by new cast member Chris Klein while former series regular

Keiynan Lonsdale Keiynan Lonsdale ( ; born 19 December 1991) is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He is known for roles such as Oliver Lloyd in the ABC series ''Dance Academy'' (2012–2013), Wally West/ Kid Flash in the CW series ''The Flash ...

makes a guest appearance. The series was renewed for a sixth season on January 31, 2019.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

Iris West-Allen Iris Ann West-Allen is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the super ...

as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost * Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe *

as Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man *

as Cecile Horton *

as Nora West-Allen / XS * Chris Klein as Orlin Dwyer / Cicada *

as Sherloque Wells and Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash * Jesse L. Martin as Joe West

Recurring

Patrick Sabongui Patrick Sabongui (born January 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor, stunt performer, and drama teacher known as David Singh in ''The Flash''. Personal life Born to an Egyptian family, Sabongui obtained a BFA in drama for human development at Concord ...

as David Singh * Lossen Chambers as

Vanessa Ambres ''The Flash'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character the Flash. The series premiered on The CW television network in the United States on October 7, 2014, ...

* Islie Hirvonen as Grace Gibbons **

Sarah Carter Sarah Sanguin Carter (born October 30, 1980) is a Canadian actress, singer, writer and director. She is known for her recurring role as Alicia Baker in the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2004–2005), Madeleine Poe in ''Shark (American TV ser ...

as adult Grace Gibbons / Cicada II * Klarc Wilson as Officer "Jonesy" Jones * Victoria Park as Kamilla Hwang

Guest

Production

Development

At the

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...

winter press tour in January 2018,

president

Mark Pedowitz Mark Pedowitz is an American entertainment executive. From 2011 to 2022, he was the president, and then chairman and CEO of The CW, after replacing the former president of entertainment Dawn Ostroff. During his time at The CW, Pedowitz oversaw al ...

said he was "optimistic" and "confident" about ''The Flash'' and the other

shows returning next season, but added that it was too soon to announce anything just yet. On April 2, The CW renewed the series for its fifth season.

, who had previously served as a co-

for the series' first four seasons, emerged as the series' first sole showrunner following

Andrew Kreisberg Andrew Kreisberg (born April 23, 1971) is an American former television writer, producer and comic book writer. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''The Flash'', ''Arrow'', ''Supergirl'' and ''Legends of Tomorrow''. Pers ...

's firing during the previous season.

Writing

In October 2017,

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

revealed that then-executive producer Andrew Kreisberg already had plans for the next season of the show and had told him the story for ''The Flash''s fifth season, which got Smith very excited and jokingly commenting, "I now have to stay alive one more year". At

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

2018, Todd Helbing revealed that "legacy" would be a theme during the season, adding, "I think everybody's thinking about what it means after they leave". On the arrival of Barry and Iris' future daughter, Nora,

teased the different headspaces the characters would be in. " oras kind of attached to

arry Arry is the name of the following communes in France: * Arry, Moselle, in the Moselle department * Arry, Somme, in the Somme department 'Arry is also a nickname, an example of H dropping in the name Harry. Those with such a nickname include: * Har ...

when she arrives and a little more distant with Iris", Gustin said. "It's a weird thing for Iris to see them bond so easily... obviously something happened in the future, which worries Iris", added

. The season also sees Barry, Ralph and Iris returning to their professional careers as a CSI, detective, and journalist, respectively. Patton noted that, "We live in such precarious times where we don't know what the truth is... I feel like ournalistsare superheroes... I hope that's a concept we bring to the show and give journalists the praise they deserve". Helbing also revealed that there will be "a lot of deaths this season" and that the main antagonist would not be a speedster for a consecutive season. The new antagonist, Cicada, instead possesses powers that "present a challenge for Team Flash that they've never had to deal with before". He is not a cult leader as he is in the comics, but is portrayed as a "grizzled, blue-collar everyman whose family has been torn apart by metahumans" and who views the rise of metas as an epidemic, and seeks to exterminate them one by one.

Casting

Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton,

, Carlos Valdes and Jesse L. Martin return from previous seasons as

Iris West Iris Ann West-Allen is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the supe ...

, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, Cisco Ramon / Vibe and Joe West, respectively.

also returned as a series regular, playing a new version of his character

Harrison Wells Harrison Wells is the name of several characters portrayed by Tom Cavanagh in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, primarily on the television series ''The Flash''. Wells, created by Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, and Andrew Kreisberg, is an original cre ...

, known as Sherloque Wells. Cavanagh also portrays Herr Wells of Earth-12 in the episode "The Death of Vibe", Harry Wells of Earth-2 in the episode "What's Past Is Prologue" and recurs as

Eobard Thawne Eobard Thawne, also known as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by John Broome (writer), John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in ''T ...

. Helbing credited the decision of having Cavanagh play Thawne-as-Wells over

Matt Letscher Matt Letscher is an American actor, director and playwright, known for his roles as Captain Harrison Love in '' The Mask of Zorro'' and Colonel Adelbert Ames in '' Gods and Generals''. He co-starred in '' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Bengh ...

as simply Thawne to making sense in a "weird,

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

way" and be applicable to the season's theme of "legacy". The fifth season is the first not to feature

, who plays Wally West / Kid Flash, as a series regular since his introduction in the second season, following the character's move to ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, ...

'' during the previous season and Lonsdale's subsequent departure from that show as well. He appears only in the season premiere. In June 2018,

, and

, who recurred during the previous season as Cecile Horton, Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, and

Nora West-Allen ''The Flash'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character the Flash. The series premiered on The CW television network in the United States on October 7, 2014 ...

, respectively, were promoted to series regulars for the fifth season. Nicolet had additionally guest-starred at the end of the first season and had been recurring in the series since the third season. The season establishes that Nora's alias is XS, making her an amalgamation of Jenni Ognats / XS from

, and Barry and Iris' daughter in the comics,

Dawn Allen This is a list of Flash (comics), Flash supporting characters. In chronological order with name, first appearance and description. Family tree Golden Age Silver Age Bronze Age Modern Age From alternate reali ...

. In July, Chris Klein also joined the main cast as Orlin Dwyer / Cicada, the season's main antagonist.

was cast to play an adult Grace Gibbons, who also adopts the Cicada persona.

Design

The season introduces a new Flash suit, which Todd Helbing described as the series' most "accurate incarnation" of the Flash suit from the comics. The season also introduces Barry's "Flash ring" from the comics. The new suit adopts brighter colors than previous suits – which had maroon overtones – and, unlike prior incarnations, does not have a chin strap.

Filming

Production for the season began on July 6, 2018, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, and concluded on April 10, 2019. Danielle Panabaker made her directorial debut this season. Tom Cavanagh directed the eighth episode of the season, which served as the 100th episode of the series and led into the annual crossover. In October 2018, it was announced that Martin would take a medical leave from the series due to a back injury he sustained over the hiatus. Due to Martin's injury, the majority of his scenes in the first half of the season were shot depicting Joe seated. In January 2019, it was announced that Martin had returned from medical leave and that Joe would return in the fifteenth episode of the season.

Arrowverse tie-ins

In May 2018, ''

'' star

Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on the CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020), based on DC Comics. Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franc ...

announced at The CW

upfronts In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allo ...

that the next

crossover would feature

Batwoman Batwoman is a name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies of Batman similarly to Batgirl. The original version of the character, Kathy Kane (eventually given t ...

and

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

. The crossover "

Elseworlds Elseworlds is the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that take place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that ...

" has launched a 2019 solo series for the character.

Marketing

The main cast of the season as well as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

Todd Helbing attended

on July 21, 2018, to promote the season. Starting on September 14, 2018, several billboards advertising Ralph Dibny as a private investigator were seen around Vancouver, the city where the show is filmed.

Release

Broadcast

The season premiered on

in the United States on October 9, 2018. The annual crossover episode swapped time-slots with ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' for that week and aired on Sunday, December 9.

Home media

The season began streaming on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in the United States on May 22, 2019. The season was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on August 27, 2019.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported a 94% approval rating for the fifth season with an average rating of 7.73/10, based on 11 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "''The Flash''s fifth season maintains the show's high standard for compelling visuals, chilling villains, and well-scripted moments of humor, but also turns a more focused gaze on the role of family dynamics amongst the increasingly complex characters." Reviewing for ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...

'', Mike Cecchini gave the premiere a rating of 4.5/5. He called it "a genuinely special episode" and "an excellent return to form for the series", naming it the best season premiere in the show's history, while directing specific praise to Gustin, Kennedy, and the show's composer

Blake Neely Blake Neely (born April 28, 1969) is an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He has been nominated for seven Emmy Awards for his work on '' Everwood'', '' The Pacific'', ''Pan Am'', '' Pamela, a Love Story'', '' Good Night Oppy'' and ...

. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

''s Jesse Schedeen also praised the addition of Kennedy, but expressed concern over the introduction of yet another speedster character, "especially with certain existing characters continuing to be so poorly served". He gave the episode a rating of 7.4/10, adding, "in a lot of ways, things do seem to be looking up for ''The Flash''. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other reminders that the series has chronic difficulties in juggling its ensemble cast." Chancellor Agard of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' and Scott Von Doviak of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' further praised Kennedy's performance, and gave the premiere a "B+" and "B" grade, respectively, with Agard concluding, "''The Flash'' is now in its fifth season, which means the show's accumulated history is one of its greatest strengths it has. I'm glad it's finding both humorous fun and poignant ways to use it as we head towards the 100th episode."

Accolades

, - ! scope="row" rowspan="12" , 2019 , rowspan="2" ,

Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in te ...

, Favorite Male TV Star ,

, , , - , Favorite TV Drama , ''The Flash'' , , , - , BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards , BMI Network Television Music Award , data-sort-value="Blume, Nathaniel" , Nathaniel Blume and

, , , - , rowspan="5" ,

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

, Choice TV Show: Action , ''The Flash'' , , , - , Choice TV Actor: Action , Grant Gustin , , , - , rowspan="2" , Choice TV Actress: Action ,

, , , - ,

, , , - , Choice TV Villain ,

, , , - , rowspan="3" ,

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

, Best Superhero Television Series , ''The Flash'' , , , - , Best Actor on a Television Series , Grant Gustin , , , - , Best Actress on a Television Series , Candice Patton , , , - ,

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...

, The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2019 , ''The Flash'' , , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 ,

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

, Best Visual Effects in a Dramatic Series , data-sort-value="Kevorkian, Armen V.", Armen V. Kevorkian, Josh Spivack, Andranik Taranyan, Shirak Agresta, and Marc Lougee (for " King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd") , , , -

Notes

References

General references

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flash season 5, The 2018 American television seasons 2019 American television seasons The Flash (2014 TV series) seasons