‘Riverdale’: Could One ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Alum Be Joining Season 3?

Riverdale will return for its third season this fall, and if casting rumors are to be believed, the new season will include a new character — one played by a Pretty Little Liars alum.

A few weeks ago, a rumor surfaced that a Pretty Little Liars actor would be joining Riverdale for Season 3. With Pretty Little Liars alum Lucy Hale’s own series on The CW — Life Sentence — not being renewed for a second season, many immediately assumed that she would be coming on board. However, Hale quickly shot that rumor down with a post on Twitter debunking it.

Now, according to Popbuzz, fans are theorizing that the Pretty Little Liars actor coming to Riverdale isn’t Hale but is instead the actor who played her character’s mother on the Freeform series — Holly Marie Combs. Fans have noticed that Combs has been active on Twitter liking various tweets about the possibility that Jughead’s mother may appear on the show next season — especially tweets suggesting her for the role.

If Combs is coming to Riverdale — in any capacity and not just as Jughead’s mom — it would make for an interesting situation and not just because of the drama that is Riverdale. Combs has her own, real-life drama regarding another of The CW’s shows, the upcoming reboot of Charmed. Combs may be best known for her role as Piper Halliwell in the original Charmed series and the actress has been outspoken about her disapproval of the reboot, largely because she takes issue with the premise.

“Let me say first that I appreciate the jobs and opportunities the Charmed reboot has created,” Combs said. “But I will never understand what is fierce, funny, or feminist in creating a show that basically says the original actresses are too old to do a job they did 12 years ago. I hope the new show is far better than the marketing, so the true legacy does remain.”

Combs has also previously spoken out about how she wishes the network had considered the wishes of the original show’s fanbase.

“Reboots fair better when they honor the original as opposed to taking shots at the original,” Combs said. “Reboots also do better when they listen to a passionate fan base which is what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s why we do reboots. The fans are why we all get to do what we do. So, we wish them well and hope for success.”

At this point, the rumors of any Pretty Little Liars cast member joining Riverdale are just that — rumors. Fans will just have to stay tuned to see what the Archie Comics-inspired drama has in store when it returns this fall.

Riverdale will return Wednesday nights at 8/7c on The CW this fall. Charmed will make its debut Sunday nights at 9/8c after Supergirl.