The Flash: Storylines, Guest Stars & More Previewed

Yesterday, a Q&A was hosted at the offices of DC Comics to promote the premiere of The Flash this evening (October 7) at 8PM on The CW.

In attendance were DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, Flash Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, and actors Grant Gustin and Tom Cavanagh. Unless you’re sick of reading about The Flash already, here are some things that were discussed:

On the show’s quick pace with storylines: “One of the many, many great things about working with Greg Berlanti is [that] he is never one to say ‘let’s slow it down. Let’s just throw something out there and we’ll get to it eventually.’ There’s always a plan, and a payoff waiting in the wings, and Greg’s so great about making sure that all of the things that are set up in Episode 1 are paid off in this season,” Geoff Johns says.

“I would say, for me, so many times we break it and talk about it like it’s a character drama, in part because of the actors that we have, and so, we’re like ‘here, guys. We want to see scenes between Flash and Wells. We want to see scenes between Joe and Wells.’ And so, we give them storylines. They all have storylines, and hopefully in some fun ways, they twist back, and they inform whatever the character’s larger agenda might be, but on the surface, they’re hopefully really enjoyable too, in terms of [who] they really are. I don’t think anybody’s witnessed [Barry] tell a lie yet. I think he’s been very truthful about a lot of things, and so that’ll be intriguing to watch how that plays out,” Greg Berlanti says.

“It’s extremely fun to play, I will say that,” Tom Cavanagh adds. “The way that this has been crafted; it’s really enjoyable. We have a lot of fun doing it.”

What would make The Flash a success? “Obviously we hope that the numbers are there, because we want the show to go for a long, long time, but I think if people fall in love with the characters, that’s the biggest win of all,” Geoff Johns says.

The level of actors cast for The Flash have inspired some big-name castings. Wentworth Miller will be playing Captain Cold in the show’s fourth episode; Dominic Purcell, who played his brother on Prison Break, will be appearing as Heat Wave later. “That was actually from Wentworth, too. I was on the set talking to him, and I said ‘Hey. If we were going to bring you back, and have you team up with somebody, is there someone you’d like to work with?’ We talked about the character, and he said ‘Dominic’ without missing a beat,” Geoff Johns recalls. “And he said, ‘I think he’d do it. We’d have fun.’ So it came from him.”

The luck with casting is also bringing in original Flash actor Amanda Pays, who starred in the series with John Wesley Shipp, who is also in the new show. “We just shot with Amanda Pays the other day, which was amazingly awesome, to watch those dailies and see everybody acting together,” Andrew Kreisberg says. “There’s all sorts amazing DC people, from other DC properties that we’re able to bring on. Again, I don’t know what casting gods we sacrificed a goat to, but to get people like Wentworth and Dominic… we have Clancy Brown playing General Eiling. I mean, these casts are just amazing week in and week out.”

Robbie Amell will be showing up as half of Firestorm – check out interview material about that HERE!

If you watched The Flash illegally this summer, you’re on notice. “If you saw the pilot illegally, you have to still watch it [Tuesday] night, or we will all hunt you down! We know who you are. It is different. There’s three extra minutes! That’s what we like to say,” Greg Berlanti says.

You don’t need to have seen Arrow to “get” The Flash. “Even though it is a spin-off, you don’t need to have watched a minute of Arrow, I think, to enjoy The Flash pilot and enjoy that world,” Kreisberg promises.

The Flash embraces its comic book inspiration. “I think the most satisfying thing about it is that it makes you feel that way that we used to feel when we read the comic books when we were kids,” Greg Berlanti promises. “I think there’s tons of comic book shows on TV now. We’re fortunate enough to make another one of those. But they don’t all have that exact emotion. Really, you’re watching him run, and you stop thinking about ‘how did they do that?’ You just see those sequences come in. It’s imbued with the kind of feeling that the original source material really was trying to do.”

“This show embraces the superhero lore fully on,” Johns promises. “There is no reluctance on anyone’s part. We’re all in on this. This is the most comic book show, I think, that’s ever been made.”

The Flash premieres tonight at 8PM on The CW. Come join the countdown on our forum!