Fans, friends, and co-workers alike have been mourning Luke Perry this week, who passed away from a stroke at age 52 on March 4th. Perry spent the last three years portraying Fred Andrews on Riverdale, which shut down production earlier this week due to the tragic news.
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According to Deadline, the CW series resumed production on Wednesday after taking Monday and Tuesday off. Perry has understandably been on everyone’s minds, especially the cast and crew of the hit series.
Warner Bros. Television, The CW, and Riverdale executive producers Greg Berlanti, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater released the following statement regarding Luke Perry’s passing:
“We are deeply saddened to learn today about the passing of Luke Perry. A beloved member of the Riverdale, Warner Bros. and CW family, Luke was everything you would hope he would be: an incredibly caring, consummate professional with a giant heart, and a true friend to all. A father figure and mentor to the show’s young cast, Luke was incredibly generous, and he infused the set with love and kindness. Our thoughts are with Luke’s family during this most difficult time.”
Aguirre-Sacasa also wrote about Perry on Instagram this week. “Going through pictures on my way to set,” he wrote alongside a group cast photo. “Our heart, always. Tonight’s episode of #Riverdale finds Fred doing what he does best–helping Archie.”
The creator also announced that the show would be dedicating all remaining episodes to Perry. The first since his death aired this week, and included a touching tribute.
While the production was shut down for two days, Deadline reports that the writers have already started “tweaking the scripts for the remaining couple of episodes from Season 3” now that Perry has passed. It’s currently unclear how the show intends to handle the loss.
Many of Perry’s co-stars have posted tributes to the actor, including Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge) and KJ Apa (Archie Andrews).
In addition to upcoming episodes of Riverdale that had already been filmed prior to his death, Perry is set to appear this summer in Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Riverdale‘s third season continues Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
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