Back in 2012, when the first season of DC’s Arrow was released, no one knew just what a complex and elaborate shared world the series would go on to spawn. As more shows and characters were introduced in subsequent years, the Arrowverse was born and has now grown to include six live-action TV series and two animated shows.

This impressive feat of world-building has gone a long way in redeeming DC since they haven’t yet been able to successfully replicate this on film, with the company’s beleaguered DCEU often coming in for criticism over how disjointed it’s been.

In contrast to the giant failure of the DCEU, the Arrowverse remained a coherent and consistent universe that has earned itself a ton of admiration from superhero fans, and a lot of acclaim along the way. With eight shows and over 40 seasons to date, the universe has had an amazing run. However, the Season 9 finale of The Flash brought it to an epic conclusion, and that’s left many virgins to the franchise realizing that now might be the perfect time to catch up on all of it.

If you’re looking to start the franchise afresh, here’s a guide on how to watch all the main shows from the Arrowverse in a simplified way.

Which Shows Should You Watch
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Since Arrow, the Arrowverse went on to comprise many other series that all tied in together. All the shows in the Arrowverse are respectively, Arrow (eight seasons), The Flash (nine seasons), Supergirl (six seasons), Legends of Tomorrow (seven seasons), Black Lightening (four seasons), Batwoman (three seasons), together with the animated shows, Vixen (two seasons), and Freedom Fighters: The Ray (two seasons).

If you truly do wish to catch up on all of it, you may want to consider it very carefully since the scale to which this universe has grown requires quite a time commitment. Collectively, these shows have had a running time of 11 years, comprise over 40 seasons, and more than 700 episodes of content.

The Purist Order vs. The Simple One
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Given the global success and impact of superhero films and TV series in the last two decades, it should now come as no surprise just how obsessive comic book fans can be about their favorite ones. For purist fans, the kind who eat, sleep, and breathe all things Marvel and DC, there is a truly comprehensive way to watch the Arrowverse shows that ensures the integrity of its complex continuity is left intact down to the minutest detail on an episode-by-episode.

Unfortunately, if you want to go down this route, the full explanation covers a massive list of precisely which episodes of which seasons of which shows to watch in exactly the right order. However, if this is understandably so daunting, it may frighten a potential Arrowverser away, and there’s a simpler way to do it — though not one that purists will condone.

For the sake of brevity, and not wanting to scare any inductees into this awesome franchise away, here’s how to watch the Arrowverse shows in an order that’s more digestible, yet will still ensure you get as much continuity out of the experience as possible.

The Simple Order
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For a simpler way to catch up on the Arrowverse, the easiest place to start is by watching the first two seasons of Arrow, since these were self-contained and were released before any of the other shows began. By the end of Season 2 of Arrow, we’re introduced to Barry Allen, also known as The Flash and his titular series.

At this point, Season 3 of Arrow and Season 1 of The Flash can be watched simultaneously. However, take note that this pair of heroes have a crossover event. This event begins in The Flash Season 1, Episode 8 “Flash vs. Arrow,” but concludes in Arrow Season 3, Episode 8 “The Brave and The Bold.”

Related: Every Show in the Arrowverse on CW, Ranked

From there, the Arrowverse underwent more expansion as Supergirl began its television run. Initially, her first season doesn’t overlap with the other two shows yet. However, by Season 2 of The Flash and Season 4 of Arrow, it would be better to only watch the first three episodes of each show separately.

From there, for a better experience, alternate all three shows in the following order, Supergirl, Flash, and Arrow until each respective season of each show reaches Episode 10. Along the way, The Flash and Arrow have another crossover during Season 2, Episode 8, and Season 4, Episode 8 of the shows, respectively.

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations, you can now add in Legends of Tomorrow. This can be commenced after Episode 10 of Arrow Season 4. At this point, you can watch the pilot episode of Legends of Tomorrow, and thereafter, add the rest of the season to your existing rotation, which will now be Supergirl, Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow.

Once The Flash and Arrow conclude their respective seasons, briefly change the order and watch the first episodes of each show’s new season. This will take you back to your original rotation which will now go Supergirl (Season 2), The Flash (Season 3), Arrow (Season 5), and Legends of Tomorrow (Season 2).

The Invasion and Crisis on Earth-X Crossovers
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You can continue this order without missing any major continuity issues until the next crossover event. Known as The Invasion crossover, the best order to watch it in goes like this: Supergirl (Season 2, Episode 8), The Flash (Season 3, Episode 8), Arrow (Season 5, Episode 8), and Legends of Tomorrow (Season 2, Episode 7). After this point, your rotation will be Supergirl (Season 3), The Flash (Season 4), Arrow (Season 6), and Legends of Tomorrow (Season 3).

By this point, Black Lightening makes its debut with Season 1 of that show. However, mercifully, there aren’t any crossovers with him yet. This means you can watch the entire season of that show separately if you’d prefer, with no harm done to continuity.

Meanwhile, the next major crossover event for your existing four shows is on its way. The Crisis on Earth-X crossover event should be watched in this order: Supergirl (Season 3, Episode 8), Arrow (Season 6, Episode 8), The Flash (Season 4, Episode 8), and Legends of Tomorrow (Season 4, Episode 8). Note the slight deviation in order here between Arrow and The Flash.

The Elseworlds Crossover
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As we move on, thankfully there were no major crossovers with Black Lightening and Legends of Tomorrow in the universe the other shows were operating in. However, the remaining shows were set for another major crossover event known as the Elseworlds crossover.

The exciting part of this one is that it brought in a new character, Kate Kane, as the original Batwoman. To get the best out of this one, the best order to watch them in is The Flash (Season 5, Episode 9), Arrow (Season 7, Episode 9), and Supergirl (Season 4, Episode 9). After this, you can start adding the first season of Batwoman into the mix.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover
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If you made it this far, you’re in for a real treat since everything you’ve been watching builds up to the epic Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover. Based on a famous storyline from DC Comics, the best order to watch it in is Supergirl (Season 5, Episode 9), Batwoman (Season 1, Episode 9), Black Lightning (Season 3, Episode 9), The Flash (Season 6, Episode 9), Arrow (Season 8, Episode 8), and Legends of Tomorrow (Season 5, Episode 8). Once this is complete, the continuation of that event proceeds with Batwoman (Season 1, Episodes 10-20).

Related: The Best Performances of DC’s Arrowverse, Ranked

To finally take the entire brilliant world of the Arrowverse home, continue the following watch order which will bring you up to its epic conclusion in the Season 9 finale of The Flash: Supergirl (Season 5, Episodes 10-17), Black Lightning (Season 3, Episodes 10-16), Legends of Tomorrow (Season 5, Episodes 9-16), The Flash (Season 7, Episodes 1-3), Batwoman (Season 2, Episodes 1-18), The Flash (Season 7, Episodes 4-18), Legends of Tomorrow (Season 6, Episodes 1-15), Black Lightning (Season 4, Episodes 1-13), Supergirl (Season 6, Episode 1-20), The Flash (Season 8, Episode 1-5), Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7, Episodes 1-13), Batwoman (Season 3, Episodes 1-13), The Flash (Season 8, Episodes 6-20), and The Flash (Season 9, Episodes 1-13).

The Finale
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Following the above steps to watch the Arrowverse provides a simplified way to catch up on all the main events, crossovers, and continuity portions of the franchise right up until the Season 9 finale of The Flash that seemingly concludes it all. If you’re really looking for the full effect, it should be kept in mind that the show Constantine introduces the character John Constantine, who has adventures in his own show, but later also joins the shared universe, specifically playing a large part in Legends of Tomorrow and the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.

Also, the two animated shows, Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray likewise introduce other characters who make their live-action introductions in the Arrowverse during crossover events. There’s also Superman & Lois, a show that can be watched on the side. It doesn’t take place in the Arrowverse, so won’t affect continuity, but the Superman from it does make appearances in Supergirl and crossover events.

You’re of course more than welcome to integrate those shows into your watch rotations, or separately on the side to get to know these characters for the full, complete Arrowverse experience. However, as the main stories of the Arrowverse generally center around characters like The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl, watching the shows as advised above will still help you catch up on the key parts of the Arrowverse.

If you’re a hardcore TV fanatic, and nothing but the ultimate, no shortcuts, unadulterated order will do for you, there is a canonized order that you can follow. It comprises more than 70 steps that need to be followed religiously to get the full experience out of the Arrowverse and is usually the order that purist comic book fans and superhero ultra-enthusiasts follow. Either way, strap yourself in and prepare to immerse yourself in this amazing world of TV history.