The Flash season 3

Main • Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash / Savitar • Tobin Bell voices Savitar and Doctor Alchemy • Violett Beane as Jesse Chambers Wells / Jesse Quick • Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton • Andre Tricoteux as Savitar • Jessica Camacho as Gypsy • Anne Dudek as Tracy Brand Guest == Production ==

Development In March 2016, The CW president Mark Pedowitz announced that The Flash was renewed for a third season, which was initially reported to be given a 22-episode order. However, Brian Ford Sullivan, a writer, clarified that August that there would be 23 episodes. Andrew Kreisberg, Aaron and Todd Helbing served as the season's showrunners, while Zack Stentz, who wrote the season 2 episode "The Runaway Dinosaur", joined as consulting producer. He announced his exit from the series on February 1, 2017, and Aaron Helbing left in May 2017. Writing In June 2016, Grant Gustin confirmed that the season premiere would be titled "Flashpoint" and adapt elements from the comics storyline of the same name which showed Barry Allen traveling back in time to save his mother from being murdered, creating a new timeline in the process, though he later noted that "We're definitely doing this [Flashpoint] thing our own way.... This will be its own thing." Gustin also revealed that the "Flashpoint" timeline of the series would not last for all of the third season, but that there would be "permanent ramifications". Casting Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Jesse L. Martin, and Keiynan Lonsdale returned from previous seasons as Barry Allen / The Flash, Iris West, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Joe West, and Wally West, respectively. Tom Cavanagh also returned as a regular, portraying the Harrison Wells of Earth-19 who goes by "H.R". He also portrayed, in a less prominent capacity, "Harry" Wells of Earth-2, and several parallel universe versions of Wells as cameos: a hillbilly from an unspecified Earth, the Wells of Earth-17, and a French-speaking mime artist from another Earth. Tom Felton joined the cast as Julian Albert, a fellow crime-scene investigator at the Central City Police Department. The character was originally known as Julian Dorn, Design Practical effects and costume for Savitar were created by Legacy Effects. Kreisberg noted, "The suit's body lights were all practical, which I think was actually one of the hardest parts of the process. One light would go out and...Oh God, we'd be screwed!" The Killer Frost costume seen in the third season differs substantially from that seen in season two; while the earlier version was simply leather pants and a jacket, this one includes fishnets, thigh-high boots and a cape. The season introduces Wally West as Kid Flash, and the costume was designed to look exactly as in the comics. The Flash costume of the Barry Allen from 2024 was designed to look more sleek and form fitting than the present Barry's costume, and additionally features a more prominent yellow belt. Filming Production for the season began on July 6, 2016, in Vancouver. The episode "The Once and Future Flash" marked Tom Cavanagh's return to directing after a decade; he previously directed three episodes of the TV series Ed (2000–2004). Production concluded on April 22, 2017. Music All music is composed by Blake Neely. Arrowverse tie-ins During the third season, The Flash was a part of the "Invasion!" crossover event with Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. The event also saw Melissa Benoist reprising her role as Kara Danvers / Supergirl from Supergirl. Andrea Brooks, who plays Eve Teschmacher on Supergirl, briefly reprised her role in the episode "Dead or Alive". == Marketing ==

In July 2016, members of the cast as well as executive producers Todd Helbing and Aaron Helbing attended San Diego Comic-Con to promote the season, where the first trailer for the season was released. The trailer showed first footage of Lonsdale as Kid Flash, The Rival, and Doctor Alchemy. A teaser promo titled "Time Strikes Back" was released on August 23, 2016, featuring John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick talking to Barry. The official poster for the season was released on September 20, 2016, starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen sporting The Flash's iconic bright red suit with the tagline: "New Destinies. New Dangers." In September 2016, The CW released the promo "Superhero Fight Club 2.0" to promote the start of the 2016–17 season with the addition of Supergirl to their lineup, as well as their new mobile app, where the promo could exclusively be viewed initially. The new Superhero Fight Club sees Green Arrow, Flash, Atom, Firestorm, White Canary and Supergirl go up against a new fight simulator created by Cisco Ramon and Felicity Smoak, while Diggle and Martian Manhunter observe. After defeating the simulator, Cisco releases Grodd into the arena for the heroes to face. The analytics firm ListenFirst Media determined The Flash garnered the seventh most user engagement among broadcast shows, with 7.52 million total engagements from May 1 to August 30, 2016. ListenFirst analyzed fan growth, responses and conversation volume across Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Google+. == Release ==

Broadcast The season first aired on October 4, 2016, on The CW in the United States, before moving to CTV2 on February 28, 2017. The season ended on May 23, 2017. The five most recent episodes are available to stream for free on the new mobile CW app, instead of on Hulu like the previous two seasons. The season began streaming on Netflix on May 31, 2017, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Region 1 on September 5, 2017. == Reception ==

Ratings The season premiere was watched by 3.17 million people and had a 1.3 demo rating, slightly down from the second-season premiere and on par with its second-season finale. The Flash crossover episode, "Invasion!", saw a season three-high viewership of 4.15 million viewers, which was the show's largest since December 9, 2014, and a season three-high 18–49 rating, the highest since February 16, 2016. The third season finished as the 120th ranked show, with an average viewership of 3.50 million. In Canada, the season was the 9th most-watched series in the 18–49 demographic, 8th among adults 18–34, and 14th among adults 25–54 of the 2016–17 television season. In 2016, according to an analysis from Parrot Analytics, which used ratings data (where available), peer-to-peer sharing, social media chatter, and other factors to estimate viewer demand for various shows, The Flash was the 5th most popular show in the world, with 3.1 million demand expressions per day, behind Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Pretty Little Liars, and Westworld. From January to July 2017, The Flash was the 7th most popular show in the world, with 5.47 million demand expressions per day. Parrot Analytics also noted that the popularity of the show did not slow down during the summer 2017 off-season, saying "It's consistently popular, similar to Game of Thrones, and it appears to be growing in popularity." Critical response The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 85% approval rating with an average rating of 7.14/10 based on 272 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Taking its most compelling and emotionally resonant turn to date, The Flash shifts focus in its third season, turning from the grandiose and bizarre toward the characters who inhabit its core universe -- all while remaining action-packed, funny, and dramatic." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Jesse Schedeen of IGN rated the season 7.8 out of 10, saying, "The Flash met plenty of speed bumps in Season 3, but a strong finish helped the series persevere in the end." Collider Carla Day lauded the season finale, rating it four stars out of five, but gave the entire season a rating of three stars. J.C. Maçek III of PopMatters rated the season 7 out of 10, saying, "When the show stumbles, the overarching story arc of the season keeps things going and keeps us interested [...] The show remains interesting and fun enough -- without being too lightweight -- to sustain another season and another cliffhanger." Accolades The Flash was ranked 8th on The Salt Lake Tribune Top TV Shows of 2016 list. Comic Book Resources named "Flashpoint" and "Invasion!" as the 7th and 16th, respectively, best episodes in 2016 among comic book-related television series. SyfyWire named the season premiere, "Flashpoint" one of the best television episodes of 2016. == Notes ==