During its seven-season run, Riverdale has become strange, stylized, campy, and overall one of the truest manifestations of one creator’s eccentric vision on TV. That person is Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, a writer who prior to Riverdale had done everything from Stephen King adaptations to episodes of Glee — and all of that came through on the hit Archie Comics adaptation (sometimes in the same episode, as with the Carrie The Musical episode of Riverdale).
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The CW hit started as a teen drama with a healthy dose of Twin Peaks mixed in to make things exciting, but quickly transformed into a show that involved serial killers, cults, super powers, time travel, witchcraft, and at least some kind of Archie Multiverse. Riverdale is…a lot, and that’s a big part of what has kept it going for the last few years.
“That actually was kind of early – that wasn’t even that wild!” Shechter told Variety of a season 2 plot that gave Betty a fake brother. “That was just like a traditional soap move. The Coopers really had a lot going on.”
A lot — like Hal ultimately becoming the Black Hood serial killer and Alice joining a cult. And yeah, it’s hard to say “fake brother” rates too high up on the weird-o-meter, when that same season saw Archie fighting a bear.
“The joy and the immense privilege of doing a show for seven years was watching this cast grow up,” Schechter added. “I think they all went through it [differently.] I think in Season 2, Cole was like, ‘But why?’ By Season 6, everyone was like, ‘Yep, OK!’ Everyone got on board. Even Camila at one point, I was telling her something, and she just shrugged her shoulders like, ‘Yep, it’s Riverdale!’”
Whether it’s the bear fighting, the witchcraft, or the cults, Schechter said it all boils down to the showrunner’s interests, and how they shaped the series.
“Those were all those things that Roberto loves!” Schechter said. “The show took so many chances, and went wild. But we were so lucky we have such an incredible group of actors that can pull literally anything off. Sometimes people say ‘literally’ and they don’t mean it – I mean literally anything. Anything you could imagine, they did it, and they did it with grace and style. The thing that I am proud of is – for all the people that think Riverdale is crazy and wild – at its very best, it is emotional. It says something about growing up, and it says something about where you’re from and who you are. I think the finale managed to really land that plane. It was earnest and vulnerable. I think it was insightful about life.”
You can see the synopsis for the finale below:
“NOW LEAVING RIVERDALE — Back in present day and longing for her former life in Riverdale, 86-year-old Betty (Lili Reinhart) turns to a special friend to help her relive her last day of senior year with her friends as they were, their memories restored. KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Madelaine Petsch, Mädchen Amick, Casey Cott, Charles Melton, Vanessa Morgan and Drew Ray Tanner also star. The episode was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.”
The series finale of Riverdale will air an expanded producer’s cut online. No clue what the additional footage will be, but it’s likely that version will be the one included on the DVD, too.
