Riverdale Renewed for Season 5

Riverdale is known for its wild twists, dark turns, and heart-stopping cliffhangers that leave fans wondering how the Core Four -- Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead -- will fare, but when it comes to the question of the show's survival that's one that fans don't have to wonder about any further. The CW has officially renewed pretty much all of its original programming for the 2020-2021 season and that includes Riverdale. The official announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon and, with this latest renewal brings Riverdale up to Season 5.

The announcement also included renewals for all of the network's ever expanding Arrowverse roster as well as for All American, Charmed, Legacies, In The Dark, Roswell, New Mexico, Dynasty, and Nancy Drew. Additionally, Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene received an additional 13 script order ahead of its premiere in February. Early renewals are not uncommon for The CW, but network president Mark Pedowitz explained that it allows for production to get a "jump" on preparing for the next seasons.

"These early orders for next season give our production teams a head start in plotting out story arcs and a jump on hiring staff, and this also provides us with a strong foundation of established, fan-favorite CW shows to build on for next season," Pedowitz said. "We've been thrilled with the creative direction of all three new series, and even though we are in the very early stages of our new full-stack streaming strategy, which allows viewers to catch up on our new shows from the beginning, we're already seeing incredibly positive results from our multiplatform viewership for Nancy Drew and Batwoman."

Riverdale's Season 5 renewal is sure to excite fans of the popular series but may also bring some questions as well. The current, fourth season of the series has seen a "flash forward" mystery slowly unfold that appears to show the demise of Jughead Jones. Now with the assurance that the show isn't ending anytime soon, there's no doubt that mystery will one that fans are more eager than ever to resolve -- and speculate about on the way to its conclusion.

Riverdale is currently on midseason hiatus and will return on Wednesday, January 22nd at 8/7c. You can check out the synopsis for the midseason premiere, "Varsity Blues," below.

SPIRIT WEEK — As Riverdale High prepares for the championship football game against Stonewall Prep, Betty (Lili Reinhart) gets to work on a story about the rivalry between the schools. Archie (KJ Apa) is conflicted when Mary (guest star Molly Ringwald) tells him about Uncle Frank's (guest star Ryan Robbins) troubled past. Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) goes head to head with Ms. Appleyard (guest star Emily Tennant), the school's new cheerleading coach, and Veronica (Camila Mendes) hits a roadblock with her latest Luna Rum recipe. Finally, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) is forced to pick a side after the perks of attending Stonewall Prep begin to interfere with his personal life. Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, Charles Melton and Vanessa Morgan also star. Roxanne Benjamin directed the episode written by Aaron Allen.