Having been with Arrow as a writer/producer from the show’s first season, Wendy Mericle is now serving as co-showrunner, alongside Marc Guggenheim, for Season 4, which premieres on Wednesday.

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There’s a ton of new elements coming this season, starting with a new identity and costume for Oliver Queen, as he officially becomes Green Arrow. On top of that, there’s the new villain, Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), new allies like Curtis Holt -- AKA DC Comics’ Mr. Terrific -- played by Echo Kellum and a promise from all involved that Season 4 will begin to lighten the tone of Arrow a bit – especially coming off a particularly angst-filled Season 3.I sat down with Mericle to discuss Arrow: Season 4 and how the show is juggling their new inclusions with what’s already set up, keeping different sects of the fandom happy (including those deeply invested in “Olicity” vs. those wanting the comic book/action elements) and much more.It’s going to be very different. We like to think of the first three seasons as Oliver the soldier coming back from war. We never explicitly said PTSD but the implication certainly was there. In the pilot, he’s sleeping on the floor, he doesn’t have any appetite. This season, we’re going to see him in a very different place. When he leaves at the end of Season 3, he’s hung up the mantel, he’s very loved. He’s very happy where he is and that happiness and lightness and the new found faith in humanity that he has, as a result as this relationship with Felicity, is going to redefine how he approaches his mission and how he approaches his life in general and we’re excited about that. It’s a different Oliver. It’s still the same show and the same character but we’re seeing new colors in him.The humor. There’s a little bit more humor - and coming from Oliver as well. Stephen [Amell] plays a great straight man. He’s really good at that stuff. The other thing is the costume. It’s not sleeveless, but we tried to split the difference between where he was as the Arrow at the end of Season 3 and moving him towards the Green Arrow, which is the sleeveless costume and the lighter color. It’s fledgling on the Arrow so there’s a slightly different color green as kind of a nod to the comic book character. Those are the biggest things that change the most.Neal brings a very different energy and a very sort of -- it’s both grounded and supremely confident. Malcolm Merlyn was a very confident villain but Malcolm was vulnerable and has suffered loss. Damian doesn’t have those vulnerabilities. He is absolutely dedicated to his mission. We really wanted to explore someone who is a bona fide sociopath and he has a god complex and Neal brings this kind of very interesting grounded energy but he has those eyes that when he wants to be a badass, it’s like he could kill you with a look. It’s a nice balance. It’s different than anything we’ve seen in the show in the past. He’s amazing. He really is. He’s a tremendous actor and a joy to have on set. He’s been amazing.There is. We hear that and it’s interesting to get that feedback and I know Emily had the same -- we’ve talked about it. The thing that I’ll say is sometimes your characters, like anybody in life, go through crucibles and you come out and now she’s in a very happy place with Oliver. She too is reenergized and excited and in love. Whereas with Oliver, it’s a new thing for him, it’s sort of bringing us back to the first two seasons of Felicity, where she’s not in that headspace where she’s upset or worried all the time. She’s happy. She’s enjoying life and she’s excited about whatever the future is going to bring.It’s always a balancing act. And I feel on the show, having been there from the beginning, it’s always kind of been -- there are really three elements. There’s a procedural element, there’s a comic book element, and then there’s the grounded, relationship elements. The show, I think one of the reasons it’s been such a success, is we’re constantly shifting grounds between the three of those. I totally understand the fans -- if I was a comic book fan, I come from a more drama side of television and I understand there’s passion there and we need that. That informs the show in a big way. Half the staff is very well versed in the comic book universe and we always have DC there as a resource. But I think, by the same token, I come from the point of view of, hey, there are people that like action shows that might not know the mythology all that well, and we want to have some relatability on the show and people that can bring in people that don’t know that as well and I think that’s a viable aspect. There are a lot of fans of the show that don’t know that Green Arrow and Laurel Lance are supposed to be together forever and ever. That said, there is a balance. At the end of the day, we start our stories from an emotional place. That’s a [Greg] Berlanti thing and if we feel it’s emotionally right for Oliver and Felicity to be in a relationship now, that doesn’t rule out anybody else down the road But that’s kind of a process of us checking our guts and going “This feels right.”

Continue to Page 2 as Mericle discusses Constantine, Sara, the team dynamic in Season 4 and more.