The series, based on the characters of DC Comics,[1] premiered on The CW on January 21, 2016, and ran for seven seasons until March 2, 2022, before its cancellation on April 29.

Originally premiering as a self-serious superhero drama where heroes battle high stakes throughout time, the consensus of critics was that the show found its feet as a more light-hearted DC series associated with meta-humor, social commentary, and the greater creative freedom afforded to its cast of mainly lesser-known or wholly original characters.

In season one, Time Master Rip Hunter goes rogue after the immortal tyrant Vandal Savage conquered Earth and killed his wife and son, in what would be the future.

Intending to save humanity and avenge his family, Rip recruits a team of superheroes and villains, consisting of Ray Palmer / the Atom, Sara Lance / White Canary, Martin Stein and Jefferson "Jax" Jackson / Firestorm, Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Carter Hall / Hawkman, Leonard Snart / Captain Cold, and Mick Rory / Heat Wave, who venture through time on a stolen time ship, the Waverider, to stop Savage's rise to power.

In season two, following Snart's sacrifice while defeating the Time Masters, Rip goes missing and Sara takes charge of the team who continue protecting the timeline from aberrations.

After learning of the Spear of Destiny, an ancient artifact that can rewrite reality, Thawne recruits Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn, as well as a time-displaced Snart, from different points in time to form the Legion of Doom.

Elsewhere, the demonic entity Mallus forms a cult led by Darhk's daughter Nora, pursuing the six totems of Zambesi, two of which are wielded by Amaya and near-future hacktivist Zari Tomaz.

The Legends come into conflict with the demon Neron, who was banished by John during a show at Heyworld intended to help humans be less afraid of the magical creatures.

In season five, Astra Logue, whom John accidentally sent to Hell in a botched exorcism, has resurrected evil individuals from history known as "Encores".

He plans to create the perfect warrior by copying Sara's DNA and memories and combining it with other aliens upon claiming that he has seen the end of the human race.

While attempting to escape her imprisonment, Sara accidentally releases a menagerie of aliens throughout the timeline, including Kayla, whom Mick becomes romantically involved with.

When the robot clones are defeated, the Legends work to save Gwyn's boyfriend Alun Thomas from being a casualty during World War I, while also dealing with a fixer named Mike who later makes off with the Waverider.

LaMonica Garrett is credited as a main character in "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five" for playing the Anti-Monitor, an evil being dedicated to ending the multiverse, and the polar opposite of Mar Novu / Monitor.

[61] In January 2015, co-creator Greg Berlanti stated that there were "very early" preliminary talks for an additional spin-off series centered on Ray Palmer / Atom (Brandon Routh), from Arrow and The Flash.

The potential series would be headlined by several recurring characters from both Arrow and The Flash, including Palmer, Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller), and Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber).

[11] Later in the month, it was confirmed that Lotz would reprise her role as Sara Lance, who would be taking the name White Canary,[13] as well as revealing the antagonist as Vandal Savage.

[71] In July 2015, Klemmer and Guggenheim likened Legends of Tomorrow to an anthology series as "not everybody will be continuing on this journey", with each season being "its own separate movie" but not disconnected from each other in the manner of True Detective or American Horror Story.

Klemmer also noted the challenges of creating more crossover elements, since Amell and Gustin work full days for their respective shows.

[83] The season also featured a version of the Legion of Doom, composed of the Reverse-Flash, Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk and Leonard Snart.

[68] The series shot a presentation for the network's upfront showcase, which was filmed over the course of one night, and directed by Arrow and The Flash veteran Dermott Downs.

[94][95][96] Director/producer Glen Winter discussed in a January 2016 interview with Comic Book Resources the process of filming key elements of the series' pilot, The new facet for Legends was that there's no #1 [actor] on the call sheet.

Russ Burlingame from ComicBook.com praised it saying, "The series delivers a sharp, enjoyable pilot that's arguably the most attention-grabbing and entertaining from any of the current crop of superhero shows.

"[120] Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the first part of the pilot episode a 7.7/10, praising the show's "epic scope", "fun character dynamics", and Arthur Darvill's performance;[121] and gave the second part of the pilot an 8.4/10, saying it "improved in its sophomore episode thanks to great character dynamics and superhero action".

The website's consensus reads: "Though the narrative remains too ambitious, DC's Legends of Tomorrow enjoys a freer creative arc with the removal of problem characters.

The Website's consensus reads: "DC's Legends of Tomorrow lightens up the tone in its third season while spotlighting adventurous plots and a distinct sense of humor.

Club praised the show's transformation to an "amazing metafictional comedy", calling it "one of the most impressive turnarounds in genre TV history.

Narrated by Victor Garber, the special sees Diskin reprising his role, alongside Ernie Hudson as Santa Claus, Chris Kattan as a Christmas elf named Sprinkles, Kimiko Glenn as Tweebo, Yvette Nicole Brown as Turbo, and Keith Ferguson as Fleabo.

[182] With The Flash being the last remaining Arrowverse series at the time, its showrunner Eric Wallace expressed interest in the series' ninth season trying to resolve the loose ends left behind by Legends of Tomorrow, but was uncertain of the viability because the number of episodes for the season had not yet been decided, and he believed incorporating the Legends was difficult to achieve when he had to conclude his own story.

[183] Upon his hiring as the co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios in November 2022, James Gunn acknowledged campaigns calling to save the series, but also stated that his focus at the time would not be on revivals.

[184] The ninth season of The Flash ultimately did not feature the Legends or close any loose ends as originally intended due to the 13-episode limit.