When — specifically 1955 — and now thanks to series showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, we’re getting a sneak peek at the season premiere. In a short video Aguirre-Sacasa shared on Instagram, a jukebox plays “Rock Around the Clock” as we get introduced to the 1950s versions of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, Jughead, Kevin, Toni, and Tabitha. The clip is an homage of sorts to the opening of the iconic television series Happy Days. You can check it out for yourself below.
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“In honor of [Entertainment Weekly’s] first look at our last season of Riverdale, set in the 1950s, here’s a sneak-peek at our beautiful premier episode, coming soon!! We’re making something truly special this year…” Aguirre-Sacasa captioned the video.
Why is Riverdale‘s final season set in the 1950s?
As fans will recall from the Season 6 finale, in its final moments, Riverdale reset to the 1950s and back to highs school after an encounter with an apocalyptic comet and only Jughead remembers their previous lives. According to Aguirre-Sacasa, this shift to the past will take on the 1950s as its own genre — including confronting the myth of the time period versus the reality.
“Thank god the ’50s were as crazy as they were because it’s been so fun to be in that world,” he told EW. “Every season we explore the tropes of a specific genre, be it supernatural, be it pulp, be it crime. This year our genre is the 1950s, so we’re in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.”
How does the time setting change Riverdale?
Aguirre-Sacasa also noted that the shift in time setting also creates a change in some of the characters and their general origins, including a Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) that is from Los Angeles instead of New York and a more “innocent” Archie Andrews (KJ Apa).
“In Season 1, Veronica arrived from New York, and in the 1950s, she’s arrived from Los Angeles,” he said. “She grew up in 1950s Hollywood, so it’s similar but different from Season 1. She’s still an outsider and a socialite, very different from everyone else.”
He continued, “Archie feels much more innocent than we’ve ever depicted him on Riverdale. When we meet Archie here, he is a clean cut 1950s teen. We describe him a little bit as a Richie Cunningham-type from Happy Days and he’s on his own journey. He’s a more innocent, romantic kind of character.”
Riverdale will return for its seventh and final season sometime in 2023 on The CW.
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