Showrunner Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa discusses one of his all-time favorite episodes, delving into horror comics in this behind the scenes look at the next Riverdale, "Tales From a Jugular Vein." Watch April 26 on The CW.
The seventh season of Riverdale goes where no season of Riverdale has dared to go before—the 1950s! Picking up where last season ended, Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) finds himself trapped in the 1950s. He has no idea how he got there, nor how to get back to the present.
His friends are no help, as they are living seemingly authentic lives, similar to their classic Archie Comics counterparts, unaware that they’ve ever been anywhere but the 1950s.
Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa) is the classic all-American teen, coming of age, getting into trouble, and learning life-lessons; Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is the girl next door, starting to question everything about her perfect life—including her controlling mother Alice (Madchen Amick); Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) is a Hollywood starlet who moved to Riverdale under mysterious circumstances; Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) is the Queen Bee with a withering wit and a secret longing; Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan) is an activist fighting for the Black students of recently integrated Riverdale High; Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) is a 'square' crooner wrestling with his sexual identity; Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton) is a basketball star from farm country; and Fangs Fogarty (Drew Ray Tanner) is a greaser who’s destined to be an Elvis-type star.
It isn’t until Jughead is visited by Tabitha Tate (Erinn Westbrook)—Riverdale’s Guardian Angel—that he learns the cosmic truth about their predicament. Will Jughead and the gang be able to return to the present? Or will our characters be trapped in the 1950s forever? And, if so…is that such a bad thing?
Based on the characters from Archie Comics, Riverdale is from Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios, in association with Berlanti Productions, with executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater (Archie Comics).
As a new school year begins, the town of Riverdale is reeling from the recent, tragic death of high school golden boy Jason Blossom — and nothing feels the same… Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) is still the all-American teen, but the summer’s events made him realize that he wants to pursue a career in music — not follow in his dad’s footsteps—despite the sudden end of his forbidden relationship with Riverdale’s young music teacher, Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel). Which means Archie doesn’t have anyone who will mentor him — certainly not singer Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), who is only focused on her band, the soon-to-be-world-famous Pussycats. It’s all weighing heavily on Archie’s mind — as is his fractured friendship with budding writer and fellow classmate Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse).
Meanwhile, girl-next-door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is anxious to see her crush Archie after being away all summer, but she’s not quite ready to reveal her true feelings to him. And Betty’s nerves – which are hardly soothed by her overbearing mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) aren’t the only thing holding her back. When a new student, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), arrives in town from New York with her mother Hermione (Marisol Nichols), there’s an undeniable spark between her and Archie, even though Veronica doesn’t want to risk her new friendship with Betty by making a play for Archie.
And then there’s Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch)... Riverdale’s Queen Bee is happy to stir up trouble amongst Archie, Betty, and Veronica, but Cheryl is keeping secrets of her own. What, exactly, is she hiding about the mysterious death of her twin brother, Jason? Riverdale may look like a quiet, sleepy town, but there are dangers in the shadows..
