With Riverdale set to add several new characters to The CW series in its upcoming third season, fans have been having a bit of fun trying to figure out just what actors might make their way to the troubled town.
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During San Diego Comic-Con this last weekend, it was announced that the show would see Jughead Jones’ (Cole Sprouse) mom Gladys and little sister Jellybean come to town as well as the cult leader Edgar Evernever this fall. What the series did not reveal was the actors who would be playing those roles, though a previous casting description for Edgar Evernever did hint that the show might be looking for a star from the ’90s.
Bringing on an actor with ’90s pop culture cachet — for both Evernever and Gladys — would be a fitting move for the show. As fans of Riverdale know, the show has enlisted quite an array of former teen drama actors to play characters’ parents and other adults, including Luke Perry, Skeet Ulrich, Madchen Amick, and Molly Ringwald. But who might the show bring on in Season Three? We have some suggestions as to what ’90s actors we would like to see appear on the show.
From actors with ties to current Riverdale stars to those with a bit of legacy with The CW themselves, here are our top picks for ’90s actors we’d like to see show up in the Town with Pep.
Chad Michael Murray
A CW legacy actor thanks to his role as Lucas Scott on The WB/CW drama series One Tree Hill, Murray is a name that quickly sprang to mind when it was reported that Riverdale was looking to cast its cult leader Edgar Evernever. Not only does he fit the general casting description age-wise — late 30s to early 40s — but we could see him having a charismatic and comforting presence, the kind that might have lured in Polly Cooper (Tiera Skovbye) in and could easily win over Alice (Maddchen Amick).
Neve Campbell
From the moment Jughead’s mom was mentioned on Riverdale, fans have had only one actor in mind for the role of Gladys Jones: Neve Campbell.
Campbell, who recently appeared in Skyscraper with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, starred with Skeet Ulrich in 1996’s Scream, a slasher film often credited with revitalizing the horror genre in the 1990s. And it’s not just fans that would like to see Campbell as Gladys; Ulrich himself has said it would be an interesting choice.
“I mean, God, I think [former Scream co-star] Neve [Campbell] would be really interesting,” Ulrich explained during an interview last year. “I know she’s busy doing some films and stuff like that, so I don’t know if that’s a possibility. But yeah, I think she’d be very intriguing.”
Holly Marie Combs
Another legacy from The CW, Holly Marie Combs could also make an interesting choice for Gladys Jones.
Combs, who appeared on the original Charmed series for the network, has actually been rumored to be coming back to the network. While we’re pretty sure she has no plans to appear on the Charmed reboot as she’s been very outspoken about her dislike for the upcoming series, it was initially assumed that Combs would be coming to Lucy Hale’s Life Sentence. However, that show wasn’t renewed leading many to think that Riverdale could be Combs’ destination.
While it’s not any proof, Popbuzz did note that the actress has been very active on Twitter, liking tweets about the show and specifically as her being cast Jughead’s mom.
James Van Der Beek
Another legacy thanks to his role on the WB’s Dawson’s Creek and a brief role on One Tree Hill, James Van Der Beek would also make an excellent choice for Edgar Evernever. Like Murray, he fits the description and who wouldn’t want to see Dawson Leery as a charismatic cult leader?
However, as much fun as it would be to have Van Der Beek on Riverdale any appearance he were to make would have to be fairly limited. The actor is currently starring in Ryan Murphy’s Pose on FX.
Rachael Leigh Cook
Josie McCoy, meet the former Josie McCoy. That’s right, we wouldn’t mind seeing Rachael Leigh Cook who starred as Josie in 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats appear on Riverdale. While we’re sure she’d make a great Gladys it might be a lot more fun for fans if she were to appear in a role where she could directly interact with Ashleigh Murray’s Josie on the show. Riverdale High School never did get a new music teacher did they?
Brian Krause
Any list of ’90s actors we’d like to see on Riverdale would be incomplete without a mention of Brian Krause. Not only did he appear on Charmed (along with Holly Marie Combs), but he also appeared in Sleepwalkers with Madchen Amick. In fact, it’s his role as Charles Brady in Sleepwalkers that might make him an eerily perfect fit for the role of Edgar Evernever.
In Sleepwalkers, Charles is a shapeshifting energy vampire who feigns romantic interest in a young woman named Tanya (played by Amick) so he can drain her of her lifeforce. Sure, cult leader and energy vampire are technically different, but if Krause does come to Riverdale as Evernever all we can say is Betty Cooper might want to get a cat ASAP as it was a feline friend that saved the day in Sleepwalkers.
Sherilyn Fenn
While we’re talking about actors who have appeared with Amick in the past, we wouldn’t mind seeing one of her Twin Peaks co-stars in the Town with Pep, and our choice for that is none other than Sherilyn Fenn. It would be interesting to see Fenn as Jughead’s mom and even more interesting to see her interact with Amick’s Alice, especially with Riverdale every bit as dark and twisted as Twin Peaks ever was.
The Season Three premiere of Riverdale, titled “Labor Day”, will debut on Wednesday, October 10th, at 8/7c on The CW.
