The series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on Lian Yu, a mysterious island in the North China Sea, before returning home to Starling City (later renamed "Star City") to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow.

In the first season, Oliver returns to Starling City and is reunited with his mother Moira (Susanna Thompson), his half-sister Thea (Willa Holland), and his friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell).

[1] He uncovers Malcolm Merlyn's (John Barrowman) conspiracy to destroy "The Glades", a poorer section of Starling City that has become overridden with crime.

John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) assist Oliver in his crusade.

The season features flashbacks to Oliver's first year on the island, and how it changed him, while trying to stop a mercenary force targeting the Chinese economy.

Amell's portrayal of Oliver Queen / Arrow drew comparison to Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, while the season itself was found to be still looking for its own identity.

[citation needed] On January 12, 2012, The CW was preparing a new series centered around the character Green Arrow, developed by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim.

The decision not to include superpowers was, in part, based on the executives' desire to take a realistic look at the characters in this universe.

[31] Kreisberg provides one such example: "Every week, Oliver will be facing a bad guy, but the truth is, his real nemesis is Detective Lance, who's trying to bring him into justice.[...]

Guggenheim cited Big Belly Burger, a restaurant franchise introduced in the Superman comics, which appears in Arrow's third episode and onward.

[34] Amell was one of the first actors to audition for the role of Oliver Queen, and Kreisberg felt that he "hit the target from the outset" and "everyone else just paled in comparison".

[35] Producer Marc Guggenheim expressed that the creative team wanted to "chart [their] own course, [their] own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to Smallville, which featured its own Green Arrow/Oliver Queen who was portrayed by Hartley.

[38] The following day, Katie Cassidy and Willa Holland were announced to play Laurel Lance and Thea Queen, respectively.

[39] Cassidy said she was drawn to the show by Berlanti, Nutter, Kreisberg, and Guggenheim, whom she called smart, creative, and edgy.

[46] In the same month Emily Bett Rickards was cast in the role of Felicity Smoak[47] initially as a one-off guest star,[48] but confirmed as a series regular in January 2013.

The realistic approach to the series included the costume design for Oliver's vigilante persona, created by Colleen Atwood.

"[29][52] David Nutter, the director of the pilot episode, said that "We're creating a real, believable world in which Oliver Queen can do incredible things.

Filming for the island flashbacks takes place in Vancouver's Whytecliff Park area, near beachfront homes.

[32] Additionally, producer Marc Guggenheim finds the process arduous: "Stephen [Amell] has to wear a wig, and his look has to be changed... there's a lot.

[55] Vancouver's Terminal City Ironworks Complex doubles as the exterior for Queen Industrial, Inc, in which Oliver sets up his hideout and later his club Verdant.

The DVD and Blu-ray box sets contain additional features, including making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, gag reel, and highlights from the Paley Fest 2012.

The site's consensus reads: "The CW nails the target with Arrow, a comic book-inspired series that benefits from cinematic action sequences, strong plotting, and intriguing characters.

"[63] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times called the series an interesting setup with a quality look, describing Amell as "a poster boy (no doubt literally) for the Katniss Everdeen set.

"[64] Brian Lowry at Variety described the series as a "handsome but stiff surrogate for Batman that could benefit from sharper execution.