\'Arrow\' Offers Encouraging News for the CW

To put it delicately, the CW network has struggled in the ratings in recent years. “Gossip Girl,” formerly its flagship series, has lost most of its audience, unable to average even a million viewers per episode during this, its final season, and the network has not introduced a successful new program since “The Vampire Diaries” in 2009.

There is some hope this year, however, in the form of the new superhero drama “Arrow.” The series premiere on Oct. 10 drew 4.1 million total viewers, which was the largest audience for any show on any night for the CW in three years. It was also the most watched premiere for the network since “The Vampire Diaries.”

Based on the adventures of the Green Arrow, the DC Comics character introduced in 1941, “Arrow” follows Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who also happens to fight crime with his archery skills while favoring emerald-colored attire.

On Oct. 22, the CW gave “Arrow” a full-season ord er, noting that the show had retained 100 percent of viewers 18 to 49 for its second episode. Since that announcement, the show has held on to 85 percent of that audience while hitting the 3.5 million mark in total viewers. The most recent episode, on Oct. 31, recorded a slight drop, but television ratings have been down across the board this week because of Hurricane Sandy, and the broadcast also fell on Halloween, a night when fans were just as likely to dress up like Green Arrow as watch a show starring him.