A new face will be coming to the town of Riverdale very soon.
Videos by ComicBook.com
We just learned, via Entertainment Tonight, that Vanessa Morgan (Finding Carter, The Shannara Chronicles) will be joining The CW series as Toni Topaz.
For the uninitiated, Toni is a minor character in the world of Archie Comics, who mainly bonds with Jughead Jones (played on Riverdale by Cole Sprouse) over their shared love of food.
“Toni Topaz is a character who was added on a little more recently in the comic books and she’s always been very, very vivacious, exciting and a bit of a disrupter.” Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa explained to Entertainment Tonight. “She very famously has as large an appetite for hamburgers as Jughead Jones. In the Riverdale version of this character, she’s going to be a student at Southside High. She’s going to be a member of the Southside Serpents and she’s going to be a friend and confidant to Jughead Jones.”
“Vanessa auditioned for Riverdale for us last year and we all fell in love with her. We didn’t have a spot for her last year, but I called her after she auditioned and tested and I said, ‘I’m so sorry I’m not going to be able to bring you aboard this year, but I love you and I promise you’re going to come and be a part of Riverdale next year.’ And so I’m thrilled that she’s going to be coming on as Toni Topaz.”
According to Aguirre-Sacasa, Riverdale‘s adaptation of the character will embody two of her signature traits – her bisexuality, and her pink hair.
“I believe yes,” he explained, in reference to Toni’s sexuality, “that is something that we’re going to explore.”
Riverdale‘s second season will premiere on a new night, Wednesday, October 11th, at 8/7c.
MORE RIVERDALE NEWS: Riverdale Season 2 Details Might Mean Trouble For Kevin Keller / Riverdale Actor Reveals Season 1 Finale Had A Different Ending / Cheryl Will Be “Even Meaner” In Season 2 / Betty Will Fight To Keep Bughead Together In Season 2
The first season of RIVERDALE found our characters reeling from the tragic death of high school golden boy Jason Blossom. For many who had seen their home as perfect, safe, and innocent, the investigation into Jason’s murder peeled back the layers of their hometown to reveal a place bubbling over with secrets, mysteries, and scandals. Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), for instance, grew from a sweet, all-American kid into a young man acutely aware of the darker side of life—he broke his best friend’s heart, had a forbidden relationship with his music teacher, and grappled with whether he wanted to follow in his dad’s salt-of-the-earth footsteps. On the positive side, Archie repaired his friendship with Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), found some success as a musician—thanks in part to Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) and her band, the Pussycats—and found a new romantic interest in femme fatale Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes). New to town, Veronica spent the season trying to atone for her “bad girl” past, all the while wrestling with her beloved father’s criminal legacy—and contending with a mother, Hermione (Marisol Nichols), who might not be as innocent as she claimed. Veronica became fast-friends with Archie’s girl-next-door neighbor, Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), who did some growing up of her own this season. After Archie’s rejection, Betty threw herself into running the school paper, “The Blue and Gold,” where she discovered a better romantic match in sardonic outsider Jughead. Together, they tracked down Betty’s sister Polly (guest star Tiera Skovbye), who had been sent away by their overbearing mother Alice (Mädchen Amick). Under the guise of writing for the school paper, Betty and Jughead investigated Jason Blossom’s death—which led to them discover that Jughead’s father—FP Jones (guest star Skeet Ulrich)—was involved with covering up Jason’s murder. Meanwhile, Jason’s twin sister Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) ruled the school as Riverdale High’s venomous, merciless Red Queen—until she learned the true identity of Jason’s killer. As the town breathed a collective sigh of relief that Jason’s killer had been found out, another terrible crime occurred, in a space that had been considered one of the town’s safest, most innocent places. If Jason Blossom’s murder revealed the slimy underbelly beneath Riverdale‘s surface, as we enter Season Two, the shooting of Fred Andrews threatens to plunge the entire town into utter darkness.
Based on the characters from Archie Comics, RIVERDALE is from Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios, in association with Berlanti Productions, with executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Supergirl, Glee), Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Sarah Schechter (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) and Jon Goldwater (Archie Comics).
