The second season of the American television series ''

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 Klem ...

'', which is based on characters from

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 ...

, 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 13, 2016, and ran for 17 episodes until April 4, 2017. The season follows the Legends, a dysfunctional team of time-traveling superheroes and anti-heroes, and their mission to correct aberrations in time resulting from their first mission together. 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 ...

'' 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 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

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 ...

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 March 2016. Production began that July and ended in February 2017. Principal cast members

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

Brandon Routh Brandon James Routh (; born October 9, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Superman in the 2006 film ''Superman Returns'', which garnered him international fame. In 2011, he played the titular character of the film '' Dylan Dog: Dead of Ni ...

Arthur Darvill Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ''Legends of Tomorrow'' ( ...

Caity Lotz Caitlin Marie Lotz (born December 30, 1986) is an American actress, dancer and singer. She has portrayed Stephanie Horton in ''Mad Men'', Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series ''Death Valley'' (2011), Annie in '' The Pact'' (2013) ...

Franz Drameh Franz Alhusaine Drameh (born 5 January 1993) is an English actor. His film debut was in Clint Eastwood's fantasy drama, ''Hereafter'' (2010). He also appeared in British film '' Attack the Block'' (2011) and the 2014 blockbuster ''Edge of Tomor ...

Amy Pemberton Amy Louise Pemberton is a British actress. She portrays Gideon (Legends of Tomorrow), Gideon in the television series ''Legends of Tomorrow'' and voiced Elaena Glenmore in the Game of Thrones (2014 video game), ''Game of Thrones'' video game. S ...

, and

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 ...

return from the previous season, and are joined by new cast members

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 ...

Nick Zano Nick Zano (born March 8, 1978) is an American actor. Zano is known for having played Vince in The WB's sitcom '' What I Like About You''. He hosted MTV's former infotainment program about the film industry, ''Movie House'', and briefly worked a ...

, and ''The Flash'' alum

Matt Letscher Matthew Letscher is an American actor, director and playwright, known for his roles as Captain Harrison Love in the 1998 American swashbuckler film ''The Mask of Zorro'' and as Colonel Adelbert Ames in the 2003 American film '' Gods and General ...

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Martin Stein / Firestorm *

as Ray Palmer / Atom *

Rip Hunter Rip Hunter is a fictional time traveling hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jack Miller and artist Ruben Moreira, the character first appeared in ''Showcase'' #20 (May 1959). Following three more appe ...

as Sara Lance / White Canary *

as Jefferson "Jax" Jackson / Firestorm *

as Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash *

as Amaya Jiwe / Vixen *

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 ...

as Nate Heywood / Steel *

as Mick Rory / Heat Wave

Recurring

Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn Compton, Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney ...

as Damien Darhk *

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrow ...

as Malcolm Merlyn / Dark Archer *

Wentworth Miller Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972) is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series ''Prison Break'', for which he received a nomination for the ...

as Leonard Snart / Captain Cold

Guest

Production

Development

On March 11, 2016, ''

'' was renewed for a second season. After the first season, the producers considered adjusting the Legends team for additional seasons, with

Joseph David-Jones Joseph David-Jones (born December 22, 1993) is an American actor, known for his roles in the TV dramas ''Nashville'' and ''Arrow''. Early life and career David-Jones was born in 1993, in Los Angeles, and grew up in Florence, Kentucky. He earne ...

Connor Hawke Connor Hawke is a fictional DC Comics superhero who operated as the second Green Arrow, created by Kelley Puckett and Jim Aparo. In the post-''Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Zero Hour'' continuity, Connor is the eldest son of Oliver Queen, the ori ...

and

Megalyn Echikunwoke Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke ( ; born May 28, 1983), also known as Megalyn E.K., is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in television and film. Born in Spokane, Washington, she was discovered while performing in a theatri ...

's Mari McCabe / Vixen potential additions. For the second season, showrunner

revealed that ''

'' writer

Keto Shimizu Keto Shimizu (born December 23, 1984) is an American television writer, producer, and comic book writer. She is known for her work on the North American adaptation of '' Being Human'' and for her substantial contributions to Greg Berlantis and ...

and ''

'' writer

Grainne Godfree Grainne Godfree is an American television writer. She is well known for her significant work on The CW and Greg Berlantis ''Arrowverse''. Life and career She attended Harvard University, graduating with a degree in history. She later entered th ...

would be working on ''Legends'' in order to "make our stories work in concert" with ''Arrow'' and ''The Flash''. Klemmer also noted the challenges of creating more crossover elements, since ''Arrow'''s lead actor

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). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...

and ''The Flash'''s lead actor

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 ...

work full days for their respective shows. In terms of working within the Arrowverse, Klemmer said that the death of Laurel Lance on ''Arrow'' would "resonate into Season 2...

ince Ince may refer to: *Ince, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, UK *Ince-in-Makerfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, UK *Ince (UK Parliament constituency), a former constituency covering Ince-in-Makerfield *Ince (ward), an electoral ward covering ...

something that happens on ''Arrow'' can create ripples that appear on our show in a huge way. It fundamentally alters the DNA of our series." The second season initially consisted of 13 episodes, with four more ordered in November 2016 to bring the season total to 17. Teasing the premise of season two in April 2016, Klemmer stated, "We're coming at it from a completely different angle. We're determined to make every part of season two feel like its own show.

he first episode of season two He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...

will very much be a new pilot with new good guys, new bad guys, new stakes, new dynamics, new goals. The team will basically have to find a new purpose. Once you save the world, what do you do then?... The fact that the world was in peril sort of forced our team to fall into its own dysfunctional version of lockstep. Season two, they're no longer going to be hunted by Time Masters. They're no longer going to be burdened with having to save the world. It's no longer going to be about saving Miranda and Jonas. The interesting thing about season two is I think it's going to have a much, much different tone because our Legends are going to have a totally different purpose. They're actually going to have a totally different constitution. There will be new faces and new everything." The season also introduced members of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic ...

. The Society consisted of

Hourman Hourman or Hour-Man is the name of three different fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The original Hourman was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily in '' Adventure Comics'' #48 (March 1940), during ...

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Commander Steel Commander Steel (also known as Captain Steel, Citizen Steel and Sergeant Steel) is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics by the American publisher DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in ''Steel, The ...

Obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...

, Stargirl and Dr. Mid-Nite. The season also featured a version of the

Legion of Doom The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in ''Challenge of the Super Friends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Univers ...

, composed of Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash, Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk and Leonard Snart / Captain Cold.

Casting

Main cast members

, and

returned from the previous season as

Martin Stein Martin Stein is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly associated with, and sometimes is, the superhero Firestorm. Stein has made several appearances in DC-related media, such as the Arrowve ...

Ray Palmer Ray Palmer may refer to: * Raymond A. Palmer, science-fiction writer and editor * Raymond F. Palmer, medical professor * Ray Palmer (pastor), American pastor and author of hymns * Ray Palmer (Arrowverse), a TV show character based on his comic boo ...

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 ...

, Jefferson Jackson,

, and

Mick Rory Heat Wave (Mick Rory) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an enemy of The Flash and a member of The Rogues along with Captain Cold. Actor Dominic Purcell has portrayed the character in The CW's Arro ...

, respectively. They were joined by

and

, playing Eobard Thawne,

Amaya Jiwe ''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, ...

, and Nate Heywood, respectively. Letscher reprised his role from ''The Flash''. It was originally intended for Megalyn Echikunwoke, who voices Mari McCabe / Vixen in the animated web series ''

'', to reprise her role in this series, but due to scheduling conflicts for Echikunwoke, the producers instead cast Sellers as Jiwe, McCabe's grandmother and an earlier incarnation of Vixen. This incarnation was an original creation for the series. Darvill was absent for 5 episodes this season due to his commitment to the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

series ''

Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes and produced by Kudos in assoc ...

''. Pemberton physically portrayed Gideon in the episode "Land of the Lost", unlike earlier episodes where she only voiced the character.

, who portrayed Leonard Snart / Captain Cold as a regular in season one, signed a contract with Warner Bros. TV to continue portraying Snart simultaneously on multiple shows in the

, including ''Legends of Tomorrow''.

and

Katie Cassidy Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy (formerly Rodgers) (born November 25, 1986) is an American actress. Following several minor television roles, she came to attention as a scream queen after starring in the horror films '' When a Stranger Calls'' ...

, who portrayed Malcolm Merlyn and Laurel Lance respectively on ''Arrow'', signed a similar contract that allowed them to continue being a series regular on ''Arrow'' as well as the other Arrowverse shows, including ''The Flash'' and ''Legends of Tomorrow''.

, who recurred as Damien Darhk on ''Arrow'' and made a guest appearance in season one of ''Legends of Tomorrow'', returned to the series in a recurring capacity.

Ciara Renée Ciara Renée Harper (born October 19, 1990) is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her roles on Broadway as The Witch in ''Big Fish,'' the Leading Player in ''Pippin'', and Elsa in '' Frozen.'' She played Esmeralda in ''The H ...

and

Falk Hentschel Falk Hentschel is a German actor, dancer and choreographer. He is mostly involved in American productions and has had supporting roles in movies such as ''White House Down'' and '' Transcendence''. He played superhero Hawkman, which he portrayed ...

, who starred as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl and Carter Hall / Hawkman respectively in the first season, did not return for the second, with ''Legends of Tomorrow'' co-creator

Marc Guggenheim Marc Guggenheim (born September 24, 1970) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer, and novelist. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), ''Arrow'' (2012– 2020), and ''Lege ...

saying the writers could not find a suitable story for their characters set after the first season, adding, "The bow was tied so tightly and neatly with their story in the finale, that everything we thought of felt very forced. After 4000 years, they were no longer under the specter of Vandal avage and we felt they need some time off." He added that bringing the duo back at the very beginning of the second season felt "premature."

Filming

Shooting for the season began in July 2016 at Vancouver, and ended in February 2017.

Arrowverse tie-ins

In November 2016, the cast of ''Legends of Tomorrow'' appeared on ''The Flash'' and ''Arrow'' as part of the three-part " Invasion!" crossover event; the crossover episodes also featured appearances by

Melissa Benoist Melissa Marie Benoist ( ; born October 4, 1988) is an American actress, singer and producer. Her first major role was Marley Rose on the Fox musical comedy drama ''Glee'' (2012–2014), where she was a series regular during the fifth season. S ...

, reprising her role as Kara Danvers / Supergirl from the TV series ''

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 Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

''.

Release

Broadcast

The season began airing on October 13, 2016, on The CW in the United States, and concluded on April 4, 2017.

Home media

The season was made available for streaming on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in late April 2017, soon after the season finale aired. It was later released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on August 15, 2017.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

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 ...

gave the season an 88% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.97/10 based on 10 reviews. 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." Jesse Schedeen of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game 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 distri ...

called it a significant improvement over the first season, saying it reduced "most of what didn't work about Season 1 and added several worthy new characters to the mix." He noted that while the season was "crammed full of compelling character arcs and plot twists", it thrived simply by "offering a sense of whimsical adventure and comedy that be frustratingly hard to find in other live-action DC projects." Caitlin Kelly of Hypable wrote that the reasons Season 2 works so well are because of its new roster, the evolving dynamics of its main characters, great villains, and the fun, which made it easier to not care about plot holes. Several years later, Matthew Sonnack of CBR called Season 2 the best of ''Legends of Tomorrow, "''with the perfect balance of action, humor, drama, and heart."

Accolades

, - ! scope="row" rowspan="4" , 2017 , rowspan="3" ,

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 Direction in a Dramatic Series , David Geddes , , , - , Best Visual Effects in a Dramatic Series ,

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 ...

, Meagan Condito, Rick Ramirez, Andranik Taranyan, James Rorick , , , - , Best Sound in a Dramatic Series , Kristian Bailey , , , - ,

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

, Choice TV Actress: Action ,

, ,

Notes

References

General references *

External links

* * {{Arrowverse 2016 American television seasons 2017 American television seasons Legends of Tomorrow seasons