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Arrow to End After Season 8

The final season will have 10 episodes

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Lindsay MacDonald

Arrow may be the show that launched a thousand spin-offs (OK, not a thousand, but it birthed the whole Arrowverse for heaven's sake), but every show eventually reaches an endpoint, and it looks like Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is finally read to put his bow and arrows down.

The CW announced Wednesday that Season 8 will be the show's last. "This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we've made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind," executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Beth Schwartz said in a statement. "We're heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come. We're excited about crafting a conclusion that honors the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and -- more importantly -- the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years."

Amell also tweeted the news, writing, "Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life... but you can't be a vigilante forever. Arrow will return for a final run of 10 episodes this Fall. There's so much to say... for now I just want to say thank you."

When Arrow premiered on The CW in 2012, it ushered in a new era for the network, which was previously known for soapy teen fare but has since expanded to be one of the central players for superhero stories. The drama still boasts several of its original stars, including Amell, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Colton Haynes as Roy Harper and Katie Cassidy as Earth-2 Laurel Lance, aka Black Siren.

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Season 8 will consist of 10 episodes, meaning there's a decent chance that this fall's Arrowverse crossover, "Crisis on Infinite Earths," will encompass the series finale of Arrow. If not, it will still likely be the last crossover with Oliver Queen in it. It's starting to make more and more sense that he made some mysterious deal with The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) in last year's crossover.

The rest of the cast sounded off on social media about the show's final season, thanking the fans and looking back on their years on Arrow.

"What an awesome ride! @arrow fans have been the best any actor could've asked for! Thank you for helping me bring John Diggle/Spartan to life!!! Love all of you! Can't wait for you to see what we have in stock for you. Let's end on a high, shall we? #ARROW," David Ramsey tweeted.

"Sad to say that #Arrow will be coming to an end after a 10 episode Season 8. Thank you to all the fans who've watched. It's been such a blessing to be a part of this incredible show What a beautiful journey," said Colton Haynes.

There's no word yet on whether any cast members of Arrow will jump to the various spin-off series, but the best thing about the shared world of the Arrowverse is how easy it is for all of these teams to trade members when the situation allows for it. And who knows, maybe we'll finally get that "Next Generation" spin-off with Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara) and Nora West-Allen (Jessica Parker Kennedy) we've been hoping for!

Arrow airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

(Disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation.)

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Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards, Arrow

Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards, Arrow

Jack Rowand, Jack Rowand/The CW