When Does the Second TV Show "The Flash" Season One (2014) Take Place?
"The Flash" season one is a science fiction superhero television series showran by Andrew Kreisberg [adapting "Showcase" #4 (1956) by Robert Kanigher as well as "The Flash: Rebirth" #5 (2009) by Geoff Johns] that premiered October 7th, 2014. So when is "The Flash" season 1 set?
It takes place on an alternate timeline of the fictional DC Films Universe in the years:
We know this because in season one episode ten "Revenge of the Rogues", Caitlin Snow attempts to solve the mystery of what happened to Ronnie Raymond by searching in a database for the word "Firestorm" and among the results is an entry for "FIRESTORM Movie (2011) - Direct-to-DVD Release" and "3 Years Ago" below it.
2014 AD - 2015 AD
2,011 + 3 = 2,014.
More specifically, in season one episode twenty-one "Grodd Lives" (2015) Barry refers to the time since he became the Flash (as seen in the main action of season one episode one "Pilot") as "this past year" and in season one episode twenty-three "Fast Enough" (2015) Detective Joe West also says, "this past year" just after saying the phrase ..."why you became the Flash", showing the season's main action starts over something more than 1 full year before the season's end in April of 2015 AD (see below). That indicates it is something like April of 2014 AD at the start.
4.2,015 - ~1 = ~4.2,014.
Also, season one episode one "Pilot" starts with the December of 2013 AD incident which gives Barry Allen super-speed (not when he becomes the Flash) and ends with a title card very early afterward that reads "9 MONTHS LATER". That indicates it is October of 2014 AD at the start. Either the title card is a production mistake or both Barry and Joe are speaking about "this past year" but don't mean a full calendar year has passed.
12.2,013 + 9 months = 10.2,014.
Later, in season two episode one "The Man Who Saved Central City" (2015), an issue of "Central City Picture News" is shown with a front page describing the very previous scene dated for "WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015" and in the same episode the first season's final episodes' events are twice said to be "6 months" in the past. So it's certainly April of 2015 AD at the conclusion of this season.
10.2,015 - 6 months = 4.2,015.
Additionally, season one episode one "Pilot" starts with the incident 9 months before the start of the main action that gives Barry Allen super-speed just a fifth in but includes a title card very early afterward that reads "9 MONTHS LATER". So season one episode one's beginning takes place almost a year before the rest of the episode as well as the rest of the season and functions like a prologue. These scenes directly mirror scenes in "Arrow" season two episode nine "Three Ghosts" (2013), which takes place in December of 2013 AD so it is December of 2013 AD during the prologue.
There are also three flashbacks in season one episode eleven "The Sound and the Fury" (2015) labeled "2 YEARS AGO" so they probably take place in early 2013 AD. Since the episode's main action is after season one episode nine "The Man in the Yellow Suit" which depicts the characters enjoying Christmas in December of 2014 AD, the season then continues into a second calendar year, early 2015 AD.
MANY episodes also include flashbacks to Barry's childhood in March of 2000 AD. This can be so specific because the key date is mentioned in season two episode one "The Man Who Saved Central City" (2015) as ..."on the night of March 18th in the year 2000" [and there's a grave marker seen in season two episode twenty-three "The Race of His Life" (2016) with the years "1959 - 2000" under the name of a character who dies during the prologue/flashbacks]. The fateful day the viewers see over and over again but first in season one episode one "Pilot" includes only a relative time setting title card reading: "14 YEARS AGO". In the second half of the season, these title cards change to "15 YEARS AGO".
2,014 - 14 = 2,000
and
2,015 - 15 = 2,000.
It is an early chronological TV series in the DC Films multiverse timeline (a first chronological show to feature Barry Allen/the Flash) and can be watched either at its timeline point, before "Justice League" (2017) as an extended flashback, or (mostly) separately.