‘Riverdale’: How “Bizarrodale” Could Set Up ‘Katy Keene’ Spinoff

Tonight’s Riverdale saw Josie receive some life-changing news, but while it may seem like the aspiring musician’s future plans have shifted course “Bizarrodale” may have just set up for her future adventures in the Katy Keene spinoff.

Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Riverdale, “Bizarrodale”, below.

Tonight, college and the future are central concerns for many of the Riverdale gang and Josie (Ashleigh Murray) is no exception. With her sights set on attending Julliard in New York, Josie auditions for a place in the prestigious school. However, even with the support of Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa), Josie fails to make it out of the first round. Julliard declines to advance her to call backs, effectively ending her chances of getting into the school.

While that sounds like the end of the road, it seems to set the stage for Katy Keen. A recent report from Variety revealed that Murray has signed on for a lead role in The CW‘s Katy Keene pilot. If the pilot were to get picked up to series, Murray’s Josie would exit Riverdale — and head for the bright lights of the big city.

According to the report, in Katy Keene, a now 20-something Josie sets off on a new adventure to make it in the big city. More determined than ever to break into the music scene as the next Diana Ross, Josie finds herself forging new friendships, falling into new relationships, and, one day, becoming the star she is destined to be. With the description of Josie being in her 20s, it doesn’t seem like Julliard will ever be in her cards, but that’s not the only opportunity in the Big Apple. Perhaps Josie has her sights set on Broadway. After all, she did sing about the Great White Way tonight with Archie and the description of Katy Keene seems to hint that it might be a destination.

Katy Keene is set to follow the lives of four Archie Comics characters, including the titular Katy Keene as they chase their dreams in New York City. The musical dramedy will chronicle the struggles of four aspiring artists in their attempts to make it on Broadway, the runway, and in the recording studio. In comics, Katy Keen first debuted in 1945 and, dubbed “America’s Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions”, Katy was a model, actress, and singer. The character fell out of print in the early 1960s and was revived in the 1980s. Since then, she’s made few appearances in comics, including one in Archie Meets the Punisher from 1994.

The pilot for Katy Keene will be written by Michael Grassi and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the latter of whom serves as showrunner for both Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as well as COO for Archie Comics. The drama hails from Warner Bros. TV, and will be executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Archie CEO Jon Goldwater.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.