The fifth 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, 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 9, 2018, and concluded on May 14, 2019, with a total of 22 episodes. The season follows Barry dealing with the consequences of his future daughter's time traveling, while confronting a new foe in Orlin Dwyer, the Cicada. 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 ...

''. 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

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 ...

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 April 2018, and production began that July. Grant Gustin stars as Barry, with principal cast members Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes,

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

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, and

Jessica Parker Kennedy Jessica Parker Kennedy (born October 3, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She played Melissa Glaser on the CW series ''The Secret Circle'', Max on the Starz original series '' Black Sails'' and Nora West-Allen / XS on ''The Flash'', and has also app ...

were promoted to series regulars from their recurring status in

season four A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. They are joined by new cast member Chris Klein while former series regular Keiynan Lonsdale makes a guest appearance. The series was renewed for a sixth season on January 31, 2019.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash * Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen * Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost * Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe *

as Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man * Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton *

as Nora West-Allen / XS * Chris Klein as Orlin Dwyer / Cicada *

Sherloque 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 origi ...

and Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash *

as Joe West

Recurring

* Patrick Sabongui as David Singh * Lossen Chambers as Vanessa Ambres * Islie Hirvonen as

Grace Gibbons '' 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, 201 ...

Sarah Carter Sarah Sanguin Carter (born October 30, 1980) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Alicia Baker in the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2004–2005), Madeleine Poe in ''Shark'' (2006–2008), and main role as ...

as adult Grace Gibbons / Cicada II * Klarc Wilson as Officer "Jonesy" Jones * Victoria Park as Kamilla Hwang

Guest

Production

Development

At the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January 2018,

president

Mark Pedowitz Mark Pedowitz is the former chairman and CEO of The CW. He replaced Dawn Ostroff in 2011, who had been the Head of Entertainment since the network's inception in 2006. Pedowitz oversaw all aspects of The CW, including programming, sales, marketing ...

said he was "optimistic" and "confident" about ''The Flash'' and the other Arrowverse shows returning next season, but added that it was too soon to announce anything just yet. On April 2, The CW renewed the series for its fifth season.

, who had previously served as a co-

for the series' first four seasons, emerged as the series' first sole showrunner following Andrew Kreisberg's firing during the previous season.

Writing

In October 2017, Kevin Smith revealed that then-executive producer Andrew Kreisberg already had plans for the next season of the show and had told him the story for ''The Flash''s fifth season, which got Smith very excited and jokingly commenting, "I now have to stay alive one more year". At

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

2018, Todd Helbing revealed that "legacy" would be a theme during the season, adding, "I think everybody's thinking about what it means after they leave". On the arrival of Barry and Iris' future daughter, Nora, Grant Gustin teased the different headspaces the characters would be in. "

ora ORA or Ora may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ora'' (film), a 2011 experimental dance film * Rita Ora (born 1990), British-Albanian singer-songwriter and actress * ''Ora'' (Jovanotti album), 2011 * ''Ora'' (Rita Ora album), 2012 * "Ora" ...

s kind of attached to

arry Arry is the name of the following communes in France: * Arry, Moselle, in the Moselle department * Arry, Somme, in the Somme department 'Arry is also a nickname, an example of H dropping ''H''-dropping or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the ...

when she arrives and a little more distant with Iris", Gustin said. "It's a weird thing for Iris to see them bond so easily... obviously something happened in the future, which worries Iris", added Candice Patton. The season also sees Barry, Ralph and Iris returning to their professional careers as a CSI, detective, and journalist, respectively. Patton noted that, "We live in such precarious times where we don't know what the truth is... I feel like ournalistsare superheroes... I hope that's a concept we bring to the show and give journalists the praise they deserve". Helbing also revealed that there will be "a lot of deaths this season" and that the main antagonist would not be a speedster for the second season in a row. The new antagonist, Cicada, instead possesses powers that "present a challenge for Team Flash that they've never had to deal with before". He is not a cult leader as he is in the comics, but is portrayed as a "grizzled, blue-collar everyman whose family has been torn apart by metahumans" and who views the rise of metas as an epidemic, and seeks to exterminate them one by one.

Casting

Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes and

return from previous seasons as Barry Allen / Flash,

Iris West 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 ...

, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, Cisco Ramon / Vibe and Joe West, respectively.

also returned as a series regular, playing a new version of his character Harrison Wells, known as Sherloque Wells. Cavanagh also portrays Herr Wells of Earth-12 in the episode "The Death of Vibe", Harry Wells of Earth-2 in the episode "What's Past Is Prologue" and recurs as Eobard Thawne. Helbing credited the decision of having Cavanagh play Thawne-as-Wells over Matt Letscher as simply Thawne to making sense in a "weird,

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

way" and be applicable to the season's theme of "legacy". The fifth season is the first not to feature Keiynan Lonsdale, who plays Wally West / Kid Flash, as a series regular since his introduction in the second season, following the character's move to '' Legends of Tomorrow'' during the previous season and Lonsdale's subsequent departure from that show as well. He appears only in the season premiere. In June 2018, Danielle Nicolet,

, and

, who recurred during the previous season as Cecile Horton, Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, and Nora West-Allen, respectively, were promoted to series regulars for the fifth season. Nicolet had additionally guest-starred at the end of the first season and had been recurring in the series since the third season. The season establishes that Nora's alias is XS, making her an amalgamation of Jenni Ognats / XS from

, and Barry and Iris' daughter in the comics,

Dawn Allen This is a list of ''Flash'' supporting characters. In chronological order with name, first appearance and description. Family tree Golden Age Silver Age Bronze Age Modern Age From alternate realities In ...

. In July, Chris Klein also joined the main cast as Orlin Dwyer / Cicada, the season's main antagonist.

was cast to play an adult

, who also adopts the Cicada persona.

Design

The season introduces a new Flash suit, which Todd Helbing described as the series' most "accurate incarnation" of the Flash suit from the comics. The season also introduces Barry's "Flash ring" from the comics. The new suit adopts brighter colors than previous suits – which had maroon overtones – and, unlike prior incarnations, does not have a chin strap.

Filming

Production for the season began on July 6, 2018, in

Vancouver, British Columbia 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 ...

, and concluded on April 10, 2019. Danielle Panabaker made her directorial debut this season. Tom Cavanagh directed the eighth episode of the season, which served as the 100th episode of the series and led into the annual crossover. In October 2018, it was announced that Martin would take a medical leave from the series due to a back injury he sustained over the hiatus. Due to Martin's injury, the majority of his scenes in the first half of the season were shot depicting Joe seated. In January 2019, it was announced that Martin had returned from medical leave and that Joe would return in the fifteenth episode of the season.

Arrowverse tie-ins

In May 2018, ''

'' star Stephen Amell announced at The CW

upfronts In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow ...

that the next Arrowverse crossover would feature

Batwoman Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Kathy Kane and Kate Kane. History * The first Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Batwoman, Kathy Ka ...

and Gotham City. The 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 ...

" has launched a 2019 solo series for the character.

Marketing

The main cast of the season as well as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Todd Helbing attended

on July 21, 2018, to promote the season. Starting on September 14, 2018, several billboards advertising Ralph Dibny as a private investigator were seen around Vancouver, the city where the show is filmed.

Release

Broadcast

The season premiered on

in the United States on October 9, 2018. The annual crossover episode swapped time-slots with '' Supergirl'' for that week and aired on Sunday, December 9.

Home media

The season began 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 the United States on May 22, 2019. The season was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

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 27, 2019.

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 94% approval rating for the fifth season with an average rating of 7.73/10, based on 11 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "''The Flash''s fifth season maintains the show's high standard for compelling visuals, chilling villains, and well-scripted moments of humor, but also turns a more focused gaze on the role of family dynamics amongst the increasingly complex characters." Reviewing for '' Den of Geek'', Mike Cecchini gave the premiere a rating of 4.5/5. He called it "a genuinely special episode" and "an excellent return to form for the series", naming it the best season premiere in the show's history, while directing specific praise to Gustin, Kennedy, and the show's composer

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 ...

. ''

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 ...

''s Jesse Schedeen also praised the addition of Kennedy, but expressed concern over the introduction of yet another speedster character, "especially with certain existing characters continuing to be so poorly served". He gave the episode a rating of 7.4/10, adding, "in a lot of ways, things do seem to be looking up for ''The Flash''. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other reminders that the series has chronic difficulties in juggling its ensemble cast." Chancellor Agard of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' and Scott Von Doviak of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' further praised Kennedy's performance, and gave the premiere a "B+" and "B" grade, respectively, with Agard concluding, "''The Flash'' is now in its fifth season, which means the show's accumulated history is one of its greatest strengths it has. I'm glad it's finding both humorous fun and poignant ways to use it as we head towards the 100th episode."

Accolades

, - ! scope="row" rowspan="12" , 2019 , rowspan="2" ,

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 Male TV Star , Grant Gustin , , , - , Favorite TV Drama , ''The Flash'' , , , - , BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards , BMI Network Television Music Award , data-sort-value="Blume, Nathaniel" , Nathaniel Blume and

, , , - , rowspan="5" ,

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 Show: Action , ''The Flash'' , , , - , Choice TV Actor: Action , Grant Gustin , , , - , rowspan="2" , Choice TV Actress: Action , Candice Patton , , , - , Danielle Panabaker , , , - , Choice TV Villain ,

, , , - , rowspan="3" ,

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 , ''The Flash'' , , , - , Best Actor on a Television Series , Grant Gustin , , , - , Best Actress on a Television Series , Candice Patton , , , - ,

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 ...

, The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2019 , ''The Flash'' , , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Leo Awards , 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 ...

, Josh Spivack, Andranik Taranyan, Shirak Agresta, and Marc Lougee (for " King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd") , , , -

Notes

References

General references

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flash season 5, The 2018 American television seasons 2019 American television seasons The Flash (2014 TV series) seasons