"arrow" is an american superhero television series developed by greg berlanti, marc guggenheim, and andrew kreisberg based on the dc comics character green arrow, a costumed crime-fighter created by mort weisinger and george papp, and is set in the arrowverse, sharing continuity with other arrowverse television series. the series premiered in the united states on the cw on october 10, 2012, with international broadcasting taking place in late 2012 and primarily filmed in vancouver, british columbia, canada. "arrow" follows billionaire playboy oliver queen (stephen amell), who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on lian yu, a mysterious island in the north china sea, before returning home to starling city (later renamed "star city") to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow.