The sixth season of the American television series '' Legends of Tomorrow'', which is based on characters from DC Comics, premiered on The CW on May 2, 2021, and consisted of 15 episodes. It is set in the Arrowverse, 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 ...

'' and ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply 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 ...

''. The season was produced by

Berlanti Productions Berlanti Productions is an American film and television production company founded by screenwriter, producer and filmmaker Greg Berlanti and producer Mickey Liddell. History The company was founded in 2000 as Berlanti-Liddell Productions by ...

, Warner Bros. Television, and

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

, with

Phil Klemmer Phil Klemmer is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work on UPNs ''Veronica Mars'', the NBC series ''Chuck'', and The CW series ''Legends of Tomorrow''. Early life Klemmer grew up in Winchester, Virginia being kept f ...

and Keto Shimizu serving as

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

s. The season was ordered in January 2020. Production began that October and concluded in May 2021. Principal cast members Caity Lotz, Tala Ashe,

Jes Macallan Jes Macallan is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Josslyn Carver in ABC drama series ''Mistresses'' and Ava Sharpe in The CW superhero comedy-drama ''Legends of Tomorrow''. Career Jes Macallan is an actor and director. Bef ...

, Olivia Swann, Amy Louise Pemberton, Nick Zano,

Dominic Purcell Dominic Haakon Myrtved PurcellO'Connor, B,Break Out". ''Men's Fitness''. December/January 2007 Issue; retrieved 18 December 2006. (born 17 February 1970) is a British-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Lincoln Burrows in F ...

and Matt Ryan return from previous seasons, while

Adam Tsekhman Adam Tsekhman is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Gary Green on the television series ''Legends of Tomorrow''. Early life Adam Tsekhman was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but raised in Toronto, Ontario. His parents were Ukrainian imm ...

and Shayan Sobhian were promoted to the main cast from their recurring status in previous seasons. They are joined by new cast member

Lisseth Chavez Lisseth Chavez is an American actress known for her roles in ''Chicago P.D.'', ''The OA'', and '' The Fosters''. Chavez appears as Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz in the sixth and seventh seasons of the CW superhero series ''Legends of Tomorrow''. ...

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary * Tala Ashe as

Zari Tomaz and Zari Tarazi Zari Tomaz and Zari Tarazi are fictional Character (arts), characters portrayed by Tala Ashe in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, primarily the television series ''Legends of Tomorrow''. Loosely inspired by the characters Andrea Thomas (character), ...

Ava Sharpe ''Legends of Tomorrow'' is an American television series, developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Phil Klemmer, and Andrew Kreisberg, based on several characters from DC Comics. The series premiered in the United States on January 21, 2016, ...

* Olivia Swann as

Astra Logue The following is a list of characters in the Hellblazer mythos published by Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo imprint. John Constantine A Liverpudlian magician and conman, and the main character in the series. He first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' ( ...

as Gary Green * Shayan Sobhian as

Behrad Tarazi ''Legends of Tomorrow'' is an American television series, developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Phil Klemmer, and Andrew Kreisberg, based on several characters from DC Comics. The series premiered in the United States on January 21, 201 ...

Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz ''Legends of Tomorrow'' is an American television series, developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Phil Klemmer, and Andrew Kreisberg, based on several characters from DC Comics. The series premiered in the United States on January 21, 2016, ...

* Amy Louise Pemberton as

Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiez ...

* Nick Zano as Nate Heywood / Steel *

as Mick Rory / Heat Wave * Matt Ryan as

John Constantine John Constantine () is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John ...

Recurring

* Raffi Barsoumian as Bishop * Aliyah O'Brien as Kayla

Guest

Production

Development

In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a sixth season. Keto Shimizu and

return as showrunners.

Writing

In February 2020, Klemmer said the theme of season six would be one that the writers had since the first season, but declined to reveal what it was. It was later revealed that the season would involve aliens. Regarding the decision to make aliens the villains of the season, Klemmer said this was to differentiate them from previous villains. He added, "To think about

little green men Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoid creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures known for cau ...

with laser guns who just want to rule the world, you know, Marvin the Martian kinda shape, you're like, "Yes, that's what we need!" Not having to understand who our villains are on any kind of emotional scale means we can focus on the emotional stories of our characters". The fifth season ended with

Sara Lance Sara Lance, also known by her alter-ego White Canary, is a fictional character in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, first introduced in the 2012 pilot episode of the television series ''Arrow'', and later starring in ''Legends of Tomorrow''. The c ...

being abducted by aliens. According to an interview with Klemmer, the season will feature a "motley assortment" of aliens, and will focus on the team attempting to rescue Sara, as well as Sara's experiences in outer space.

Casting

Main cast members Caity Lotz, Tala Ashe,

, Olivia Swann, Amy Louise Pemberton, Nick Zano,

, and Matt Ryan return as Sara Lance / White Canary, Zari Tarazi,

, Nate Heywood / Steel, Mick Rory / Heat Wave, and

. Shayan Sobhian, who recurred as

in season five, was promoted to series regular with this season.

Maisie Richardson-Sellers Maisie Richardson-Sellers is a British actress. She is known for her recurring role as Eva Sinclair on The CW series '' The Originals'', as well as her starring roles as King Saul of Israel's daughter Michal in the ABC Biblical series ''Of King ...

, who had been a regular since season two, left the series ahead of season six in order to "make her mark as a filmmaker on her own", though she does appear through archive footage in the seventh episode. In September 2020,

joined the main cast as an original character named

. The following month,

, who recurred as Gary Green since the third season, was promoted to the main cast. In December 2020,

David Ramsey David Paul Ramsey (born November 17, 1971) is an American actor, director, and martial artist, best known for his roles in The CW Arrowverse series '' Arrow'', '' The Flash'', ''Supergirl'', and '' Batwoman'' as John Diggle / Spartan, portrayin ...

, who portrayed John Diggle in the Arrowverse, was revealed to be appearing in the season in an undisclosed role. In January 2021, Aliyah O'Brien was cast in a recurring role for the sixth season. On April 17, 2021, Purcell announced he would be leaving the series after the sixth season, but will return periodically in the seventh season. On July 25, 2021, it was announced that the sixth season would be the last for Ryan to portray John Constantine (though he portrayed a new character in the seventh season). Tala Ashe also portrayed Zari Tomaz who returned in a reduced capacity.

Filming

Principal photography for the sixth season was scheduled to begin on October 5, 2020, in Burnaby, British Columbia. However, by September 29, the start of filming was indefinitely delayed, because of delays in receiving COVID-19 test results for the cast and crew. Filming ultimately began on October 8, and concluded on May 8, 2021.

Marketing

In early August 2020, The CW released several posters of the Arrowverse superheroes wearing face masks, including White Canary and Beebo, with all posters having the caption "Real Heroes Wear Masks". This marketing tactic was used to "raise public awareness on the efficacy of facial coverings preventing the spread of COVID-19".

Release

The season premiered on May 2, 2021, and ended on September 5. The season consisted of 15 episodes same as the previous season and two more than the next one. The episodes hold an average of 410,000 viewers per episode. The episode "Meat: The Legends" 440,000 live viewers, making it the season's most-watched episode. The lowest-viewed episode was "Board on Board Onboard", which had 350,000 viewers.