We're officially less than a month away from the return of The CW's Riverdale, and fans are eager to see exactly what the series has in store. After Season 4 was cut short due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the series is officially back -- and it's going to be returning in a celebratory fashion. The CW has released a batch of photos for "Chapter Seventy-Seven: Climax", the upcoming Season 5 premiere. The photos showcase the series' newest milestone, as the ensemble of high school characters go to their senior prom.
"It's funny, we had shot almost two-thirds of episode 20, which was going to be our prom episode. And we looked at that footage and tried to see if there was a way we could cobble together that episode," showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa explained back in May. "We actually had shot the prom, where a lot of very dramatic things happen, but we still hadn't shot some big character moments between Archie and Veronica and Betty and Jughead. So we kind of just couldn't do that."
"However, when I saw the cut of 19, what's great about it is all of the kids are in one big story together united against Mr. Honey. And it does end on a pretty shocking, disturbing cliffhanger," Aguirre-Sacasa continued. "So, it sort of was like, "Oh wait a minute, this could be a great season finale" and then prom would be a great season premiere next year. So it worked out in kind of the best way possible given everything. Obviously we would have loved to have finished the full season, and the last three episodes are fantastic. But to me, this one is fun. It's a special conceit and it brings everyone together, which I think people love."
Keep scrolling to check out the photos from "Chapter Seventy-Seven: Climax", and share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Riverdale's Season 5 premiere will debut on Wednesday, January 20th at 8/7c on The CW.