Franchise order

Arrowverse watch order: seasons and crossover episodes

Begin with Arrow seasons 1–2. Add The Flash for Arrow’s third season, then use the season groups below. At a crossover, switch shows for its numbered parts before resuming your usual series.

Major crossover guideReviewed Sep 29, 2026

Guide details & sections

A season map and major-crossover checklist, not a list of every cameo or an all-episode skip path. Watch each show’s lead-in episodes before its crossover chapter. Later season and event names are visible; plot outcomes are not described.

Which seasons go together?

Treat each row as a viewing period, not instructions to finish one entire season before starting the next show. Original air-date order is the simplest way to preserve the smaller guest appearances. The crossover checkpoints below resolve the major switches.

Which seasons go together?
Viewing period	Seasons to pair
Start	Arrow 1, then Arrow 2
2014–15	Arrow 3 · The Flash 1
2015–16	Arrow 4 · The Flash 2 · Supergirl 1 · Legends of Tomorrow 1
2016–17	Arrow 5 · The Flash 3 · Supergirl 2 · Legends 2
2017–18	Arrow 6 · The Flash 4 · Supergirl 3 · Legends 3 · Black Lightning 1
2018–19	Arrow 7 · The Flash 5 · Supergirl 4 · Legends 4 · Black Lightning 2
2019–20	Arrow 8 · The Flash 6 · Supergirl 5 · Batwoman 1 · Black Lightning 3 · Legends 5
Later seasons	The Flash 7–9 · Supergirl 6 · Batwoman 2–3 · Black Lightning 4 · Legends 6–7

The main crossover episode order

S03E08 means season three, episode eight. Read each row from left to right. These are the crossover chapters themselves, not enough episodes to replace the surrounding seasons.

The main crossover episode order
Event	Watch in this order
Flash vs. Arrow	The Flash S01E08 → Arrow S03E08
Heroes Join Forces	The Flash S02E08 → Arrow S04E08
Worlds Finest	Supergirl S01E18; for a continuity-led watch, place it after The Flash S02E18. It originally aired before that Flash episode.
Invasion!	Supergirl S02E08 (closing setup) → The Flash S03E08 → Arrow S05E08 → Legends S02E07
Duet	Supergirl S02E16 (closing setup) → The Flash S03E17
Crisis on Earth-X	Supergirl S03E08 → Arrow S06E08 → The Flash S04E08 → Legends S03E08
Elseworlds	The Flash S05E09 → Arrow S07E09 → Supergirl S04E09
Crisis on Infinite Earths	Supergirl S05E09 → Batwoman S01E09 → The Flash S06E09 → Arrow S08E08 → Legends: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Five
Armageddon	The Flash S08E01–05, in episode order

Finding all five Crisis on Infinite Earths parts

Legends’ closing chapter is a season-five special. Services may label it episode 0, episode 1, or put it under Specials. Find “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five”; do not assume the first ordinary episode, “Meet the Legends,” is the crossover ending.

Black Lightning S03E09 is an additional tie-in. If you follow that show, place it between Crisis parts two and three. It is not one of the five numbered chapters.

Elseworlds comes earlier and supplies setup. A newcomer should also watch the participating shows up to their Crisis entries; the five-part event alone is not a spoiler-free introduction to these characters.

Which other DC shows belong here?

Constantine, Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray are optional companion viewing outside this main season map. Constantine’s single season fits alongside Arrow season three; Vixen has connections to the later live-action shows.

Superman & Lois and Stargirl can be watched separately. Their wider multiverse connections do not make them required seasons between Arrow and The Flash. Smallville is also its own long-running story; a crossover appearance is not an instruction to watch all ten seasons first.

For every individual episode and smaller guest appearance, use the linked air-date index. For a lighter commitment, follow a favourite show and use the table whenever it reaches a crossover; expect less background for visitors from other series.