"Arrow's" Emily Bett Rickards Announces Exit Ahead of Final Season
by Anita Bennett and Nellie Andreeva
March 30, 2019


"Arrow" star Emily Bett Rickards is leaving the superhero drama ahead of its eighth and final season, Deadline has confirmed. The actress made the announcement Saturday on social media.

Rickards, who plays Felicity Smoak, said in a statement on Instagram that it’s time to say goodbye to the character after seven seasons. It is believed that her contract was up and she opted to move on.



“Felicity and I are a very tight two, but after one through seven we will be saying goodbye to you,” the actress wrote in her post. “I thank you all for the time we’ve shared. The elevators we have climbed. The monsters we have faced and scared. And The burgers we have dined.”

She continued, “I will keep her in my heart for always, and I hope that you can too because she would not be alive if it weren’t for all of you.”





"Arrow" co-creator executive producer Greg Berlanti and executive producer/showrunner Beth Schwartz said they are “heartbroken” to see Rickards leave the series.

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with Emily since season one and in those past seven years she has brought one of TV’s most beloved characters to life. And although we’re heartbroken to see both Emily and Felicity leave the show, we’re completely supportive of Emily and her future endeavors. She will always have a family at ‘Arrow,'” the two said in a joint statement Saturday afternoon.




In a Twitter post, "Arrow" co-creator/executive producer Marc Guggenheim talked about how Rickards became a key member of the series’ cast and bid her farewell.

https://deadline.com/2019/03/arrow-actress-emily-bett-rickards-announces-exit-ahead-of-final-season-1202585660/

Stephen Amell: Emily Bett Rickards has been vital to Arrow's success (https://tvline.com/2019/04/01/emily-bett-rickards-quits-arrow-season-7-felicity-stephen-amell/)

“For me, August 3rd, 2012 is the most important day in the history of our show. It was the first day I worked with Emily,” Amell wrote of his co-star Monday on Instagram, two days after she announced her departure. “Her energy and the vibrancy she gave to Felicity Smoak is only surpassed by what she personally gave to me. She was a co-worker that became a best friend. So on the first day of our last episode together, I’d like everyone to know how deeply I appreciate the past seven years. We wouldn’t be here without you. I love you. And I cannot wait to see what you do next.”

Emily Bett Rickards films her final Arrow scenes (https://tvline.com/2019/04/10/emily-bett-rickards-leaves-arrow-season-7-finale-cast-reactions/)

Stephen Amell tweeted footage of Rickards' final day on set, including video of his 5-and-a-half-year-old daughter singing to his co-star. “There are days when actors shed a noble tear in a scene and there are days when they ugly cry to the point of fogging up their scene partner’s glasses,” Amell tweeted. “Today was the latter.”