‘Arrow’ Star Paul Blackthorne to Exit Ahead of Season 7

Paul Blackthorne is departing “Arrow” ahead of the show’s upcoming seventh season, Variety has confirmed.

Blackthorne has played Quentin Lance, formerly a detective in the Starling City police department and now deputy mayor, since the show’s pilot back in 2012. The exact details of how his character will be written off the show are being kept under wraps.

Blackthorne becomes the latest longtime series regular to depart “Arrow.” Previously, Thea Queen actress Willa Holland announced her own exit from the show. But Colton Haynes is returning as a series regular, again playing the role of Roy Harper.

In mid-April, it was revealed that Beth Schwartz would take over as the sole showrunner of “Arrow.” Marc Guggenheim, one of the co-showrunners of the CW-DC series, will transition into the role of executive consultant on both “Arrow” and fellow DC show “Legends of Tomorrow.” Fellow co-showrunner Wendy Mericle will exit “Arrow” at the end of Season 6.

The CW announced earlier this month that all of its DC shows would be renewed. The network currently airs five DC shows, with the most recent, “Black Lightning,” debuting back in January. That show is currently one of CW’s highest-rated originals behind only fellow DC show “The Flash” and perennial favorite “Supernatural.”

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