Riverdale Star Teases Grounded and Bizarre Final Season

Riverdale will return for its seventh season sometime in 2023 — The CW has not yet announced the fan-favorite series' return date — and its return will be the end of an era. Season 7 is the last season for the Archie Comics inspired series, but while Riverdale is well-known for its crazy plot twists and outlandish stories, series star Madelaine Petsch is teasing a final outing that is more focused in its relationship, but that still feature "some bizarre things happening."

"Yes. I wouldn't say so much this season though," Petsch told Variety when asked if she'd ever read a Riverdale script and wondered if they could get any crazier. "There is one pretty major thing in my family life that's bizarre and amazing. Other than that, this season is very grounded and focused around relationship. You're really getting what made the show so special in Season 1, which was the relationships in the town. This season is more pared down with the craziness, but there are still some bizarre things happening."

Why is Riverdale's final season set in the 1950s?

The Season 6 finale saw, in its final moments, Riverdale reset to the 1950s after an encounter with an apocalyptic comet. It was a shocking shift, and one that showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has previously addressed.

"At various points in the season, we had talked about what our last season could be, and various people had been very nostalgic about when the kids were in high school," Aguirre-Sacasa previously said of the 1950s twist. "KJ Apa said to me at some point, 'Man, remember when we were in high school, and I was on the football team?' And Mark Pedowitz at the CW had a conversation with Jon Goldwater and said something like, "Oh remember when the kids were in high school?" We talked about it in the room, and we were sort of like, gosh, could we go back and put everyone back in high school? But we've done that. They were in high school for four-plus years. It would feel like a repeat. So, we were in a conundrum."

He continued, "It felt like all we're going to do for season 7 is sort of a lesser version of the high school years. But in thinking about nostalgia and then coming off of our big supernatural, mythic, Steven King-like season, we knew we needed to make our last season really, really special. One thing everyone can agree on is that whenever we have our characters in their iconic comic book outfits from the 1950s, people are delighted. Cole [Sprouse] was so happy when he didn't have to wear the beanie again, but he said to me, 'But, man, I'll wear that crown till the day I die.' So, we thought: What if we go back to high school, but instead of high school in the present, we make it high school in the 1950s which is how a lot of people think of the Archie characters."

Riverdale will return for its seventh and final season sometime in 2023 on The CW.