Riverdale EP Opens Up About Series Legacy

An era of television ended on Wednesday with the series finale of Riverdale and now, series executive producer Sarah Schechter is opening up about what she thinks the long-running, fan favorite series' legacy will be. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Schechter said that Riverdale's finale, "Goodbye, Riverdale" really did feel like the end of an era for her as well, and that she thinks that ultimately the series will end up being like Gilmore Girls: a series that audiences continue to discover in the years to come.

"A lot of times on TV shows, you don't know when something's ending, so it's a privilege to know the end is here and be present in that," Schechter said. "It felt like the end of an era."

"I think it fits in with other iconic coming-of-age shows," she added about the show's legacy. "It's something we can be proud of and that will continue to be discovered. So many of my friends' kids are watching Gilmore Girls and just love being able to go into that world and spend time with all those characters. And I think that'll be part of the legacy of Riverdale as well. Also, it's a legacy of network television, making that many episodes, of having the chance to tell that many stories for that many characters."

Riverdale Really is the End of a TV Era

At the end of its run, Riverdale clocked seven seasons and 137 episodes — spread over 13-22 episodes per season. With the shifts and changes in now networks are approaching series, and particularly with The CW shifting away from new original series and relying more on less expensive acquired and non-scripted programming, the future of television looks very different, particularly within the teen drama space. Riverdale could very well be the last teen show to air on a network and get 20+ episodes each season.

That there won't be anything quite like Riverdale again is something that series star Lili Reinhart even noted when saying her own, emotional goodbye to the series earlier this year.

"In January, I was going through this period where I was really upset and crying almost every other day thinking about it," Reinhart said. "But then like all of February I was feeling okay, and all of March I've been feeling okay about it. It comes in waves. Every show that's been on for a long time has to deal with this. It's going to be incredibly sad. I know I will never be on a show that's seven seasons long ever again."

Sarah Schechter Also Spoke About Some of Riverdale's Weirder Storylines

Over its seven seasons, Riverdale had some pretty insane storylines — Archie fighting a bear, an organ harvesting cult, alternative universes just to name a few — and Schechter also addressed them, commenting about how they all came from showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's interests and ended up making the series very insightful about life itself, even with the wild turns.

"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."

An Extended Version of the Series Finale is Available to Watch Online

Following the broadcast version of the series finale on Wednesday, on Thursday, The CW released an extended version of the series finale to stream on cwtv.com and The CW app. The episode featured the same story as what was presented in the broadcast version, just with some additional scenes addressing a few more characters and giving fans a chance to say goodbye to Riverdale themselves with a final tour around the Town With Pep.

What did you think of the series finale of Riverdale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!