The sixth season of the American television series ''

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 ...

'', which is based on the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

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. 1950 ...

, premiered on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

on October 8, 2019. The season follows Barry as he navigates through the

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

and the emergence of Bloodwork and Eva McCulloch. It is set in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a 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 on CW Seed. ...

, 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 is 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 Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

, 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 Eric Wallace 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 ...

. The season was ordered in January 2019, and was originally planned to have 22 episodes. Filming began that July, and production was shut down in March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, leaving the season with only 19 episodes.

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

stars as

Barry 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. 19 ...

, with principal cast members

Candice Patton Candice Kristina Patton is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Iris West-Allen in the television series ''The Flash'' (2014–2023), which earned her a Saturn Award from four nominations. Early life Patton was raised in Pla ...

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 Disney films '' Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), '' Sky High'' (2005) and ''Read It and Weep'' ( ...

, Carlos Valdes,

Hartley Sawyer Hartley Sawyer (born January 25, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Kyle Abbott on the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' and Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man on The CW series ''The Flash''. Career In Ma ...

Danielle Nicolet Danielle Nicolet (born Danielle Diggs; November 24, 1973) is an American actress. She has made appearances on shows such as ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001), ''Second Time Around (TV series), Second Time Around'' (2004–05), ''The Starte ...

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'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

, and

Jesse L. Martin Jesse Lamont Martin ('' né'' Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He originated the role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical ''Rent'' and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on '' Law & Order'' and ...

also returning from previous seasons, while

LaMonica Garrett LaMonica Garrett (born May 23, 1975) is an American actor and former professional Slamball player. He is best known for Deputy Sheriff Cane in '' Sons of Anarchy'' (2011–2014), Mike Ritter in ''Designated Survivor'' (2016–2018), John in '' Pr ...

was promoted to series regular from his guest status in season five. They are joined by new cast member

Efrat Dor Efrat Dor ( he, אפרת דור; born 6 January 1983) is an Israeli actress. She is best known for portraying Magdalena Gross in the film '' The Zookeeper’s Wife'', as Lizzie DeLaurentis in the Amazon show ''Sneaky Pete'', and as Eva McCulloch ...

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. This is the last season to feature Sawyer as a series regular. The series was renewed for a seventh season on January 7, 2020.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

/ Dark Flash *

Iris West-Allen Iris West 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 superhero The ...

and Mirror Iris West-Allen *

as Caitlin Snow / Frost * Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe and Cisco Ramon / Echo (Earth-19) *

as Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man *

as Cecile Horton *

as Mar Novu / Monitor and

Anti-Monitor The Anti-Monitor is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He served as the main antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and later appears as an enemy to the Green Lantern Corps ...

as Eva McCulloch *

as Nash Wells / Pariah, Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash, Harry Wells, and Sherloque Wells *

as Joe West

Recurring

Sendhil Ramamurthy Sendhil Amithab Ramamurthy (born May 17, 1974) is an American actor. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Ramamurthy is best known for his roles as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC sci-fi drama ''Heroes'', Gabriel "Gabe" Lowan in ''Beauty and t ...

as Ramsey Rosso / Bloodwork * Victoria Park as

Kamilla Hwang ''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, ...

and Mirror Kamilla Hwang * Kayla Compton as

Allegra Garcia G'nort Galactic Golem The Galactic Golem is a creature created by Lex Luthor in the DC Universe. Within the context of the stories, the Golem is a solar-powered enemy of Superman. Creator Len Wein said that he created the Golem "because I need ...

and Maya * Alexa Barajas as Esperanza Garcia / Ultraviolet *

Patrick Sabongui Patrick Sabongui (born January 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor, stunt performer, theatre actor, and drama teacher. He is also known for his role as David Singh in the CW series ''The Flash''. Personal life Born to an Egyptian family, Sabongui obt ...

as David Singh and Mirror David Singh

Guest

"Crisis on Infinite Earths"

Production

Development

The series was renewed for a sixth season by

on January 31, 2019, along with a 22-episode order. In March 2019, it was announced that Eric Wallace would replace

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 stop ...

for the season.

Writing

The season is split in two halves, each having their own self-contained

Big Bad Big Bad (abbreviated to BB or BBEG for ''big bad evil guy'') is a term to describe a major recurring adversary, usually the chief villain or antagonist in a particular broadcast season, originally used by the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' televi ...

story. Each half is referred to by the producers as a "Graphic Novel", the first one is titled "Blood and Truth", and the second one titled "Reflections and Lies". The split was done to avoid inducing fatigue by keeping one Big Bad for 22 episodes, as previous seasons had done. Wallace felt episode 19, which became the season finale due to the

halting all production, worked in the series' favor because it had "a big cliffhanger" that was "a good pause point". The remaining three episodes, which had been written, will become the first three episodes of season seven. Wallace conceded there may be a few small adjustments made based on how the pandemic would affect shooting, but said Eva McCulloch’s story "is on a very specific trajectory that we want to honor and finish." Wallace continued that he thought having these three episodes start season seven was "making it stronger because it's forcing us to look at these two separate things — which is the end of Eva's story and the beginning of the next villain's story and how he relates to

and

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

—" and making a strong connection between them.

Casting

Main cast members

, Carlos Valdes,

and

return as Barry Allen / Flash, Iris West-Allen, Caitlin Snow / Frost, Cisco Ramon, Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, Cecile Horton, and Joe West.

also returns as a regular, portraying Nash Wells, another doppelgänger of his character

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

. Cavanagh also returns as Eobard Thawne / Reverse Flash. Valdes also portrayed Cisco's Earth-19 doppelganger "Echo" in the episode "Kiss Kiss Breach Breach".

was cast in a recurring role as Ramsey Rosso / Bloodwork, the Big Bad of the season's first half.

appears as a series regular in the second half of the season as Eva McCulloch.

Design

The season introduces a new Frost costume which has a more vibrant blue color scheme than the older costume, exposes the shoulders and features a chest emblem shaped like an ice crystal.

Filming

Production for the season began on July 2, 2019, in

Vancouver 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 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and was expected to conclude on April 6, 2020. However, on March 13, 2020, production was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 90% of the planned 20th episode was filmed by that time, with one more day of filming anticipated to complete it. Though it was initially planned for production on the rest of the season to resume later in the year, the remaining episodes were ultimately not filmed as part of the sixth season.

Arrowverse tie-ins

At the end of the 2018 Arrowverse crossover "

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

", the follow-up crossover was revealed to be "Crisis on Infinite Earths" based on the comic book of the same name. The crossover took place over five episodes–three (including the ''Flash'' episode) in December 2019 and two in January 2020.

Release

Broadcast

The season premiered on October 8, 2019, in the United States on The CW. It was initially set to run for 22 episodes, but as production on the season could not continue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nineteenth episode was later announced as the season finale.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 85% approval rating for the sixth season with an average rating of 6.89/10, based on 5 reviews.

Accolades

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

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

Blake Neely Blake Neely (born April 28, 1969) is an Emmy Award-winning American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on ''Everwood'', '' The Pacific'', and ''Pan Am'', and won the Emmy (20 ...

, , , - ,

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

, data-sort-value="Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2020, The", The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2020 , data-sort-value="Flash, The", ''The Flash'' , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="8" , 2021 , rowspan="2",

Critics' Choice Super Awards The Critics' Choice Super Awards is an awards show presented annually by the Critics Choice Association to honor the finest in genre fiction film, television and home media releases, including action, superhero, horror, science fiction, fanta ...

, Best Actor in a Superhero Series , data-sort-value="Gustin, Grant",

, , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - , Best Superhero Series , data-sort-value="Flash, The", ''The Flash'' , , - , rowspan="4" ,

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 be ...

, Best Superhero Television Series , data-sort-value="Flash, The", ''The Flash'' , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4",
, - , Best Actor on a Television Series , data-sort-value="Gustin, Grant",

, , - , Best Actress on a Television Series , data-sort-value="Patton, Candice",

, , - , Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series , data-sort-value="Panabaker, Danielle",

, , - , rowspan="2" ,

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 Armen V. Kevorkian is an Armenian-American visual effects supervisor and television director. He is best known for his work on television series such as ''Ghost Whisperer'', ''Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), Hawaii Five-0'', ''Banshee (TV serie ...

Joshua Spivack, Shirak Agresta, Christopher Grocock, and Marc Lougee (for " Grodd Friended Me") , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - , Best Stunt Coordination in a Dramatic Series , data-sort-value="Kralt, Jonathan", Jonathan Kralt (for "

Death of the Speed Force The sixth season of the American television series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', which is based on the DC Comics character Flash (Barry Allen), Barry Allen / Flash, premiered on The CW on October 8, 2019. The season follows Barry as h ...

") , , -

Notes

References

General references * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flash (season 6), The 2019 American television seasons 2020 American television seasons The Flash (2014 TV series) seasons Television series set in 2019 Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic