Riverdale: Fan Favorite Star Not Returning for Final Season

By Nicole Drum

This week's episode of Riverdale, "Chapter One Thirty: The Crucible", saw the return of two familiar faces to the popular The CW series: Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge and, briefly at episode's end, Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge. Both actors had left the series in Season 5 as series regulars, making guest appearances in Season 6 as well. With Riverdale in its final season and getting closer to its final episode, fans are wondering if other familiar faces might show up as well and unfortunately, for one fan favorite the answer is no. According to series star Madchen Amick, F.P. Jones actor Skeet Ulrich won't be returning.

Speaking with Decider (via TVLine), Amick — who directed "The Crucible" — explained that while Ulrich was invited and there was a plan to feature the character in an episode dedicated to his character, things simply fell through.

"He was invited back, and the plan was he was going to come back," Amick said. "But then it fell through… I think that was Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa]'s intention, to have everybody back that he could in that last season. There was an episode that was dedicated to his character, but it didn't happen."

Ulrich departed Riverdale in Season 5 with F.P. leaving the Town With Pep to go to Toledo with Jughead's little sister, Jellybean. Ulrich announced his departure midway through Season 4, telling fans on an Instagram live at one point that the reason he opted to leave the series was he was bored creatively.

Mark Consuelos Was "Extremely Grateful" to Return as Hiram Lodge

Speaking with ComicBook.com, Consuelos said he was both excited and grateful to get to come back as Hiram Lodge one last time, especially after his character was killed off previously.

"I got a call from Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa], I think the season had started already, and I made my... I just accepted the fact that maybe I was the only character to die on Riverdale and not come back. I was like, 'Alright, that's cool.' Everybody that dies comes back over and over and over again. Maybe Hiram's the exception. He dies and that's just it," Consuelos said. "And I was cool with it, but when he called, he had me at, 'Would you be interested?' I said, 'Absolutely.' I was like, 'Yes, yes. The answer is yes.' And he goes, 'Don't you want to hear what the episode's about?' I'm like, 'Sure, you can tell me what the episode's about, but I would love to come back.' So yeah, I jumped at the opportunity. It gave the opportunity to say... To see my old friends, to see the sets that I spent days and hours on, and the crew. It was not often that you get to say goodbye twice, so I just thought... I was extremely grateful for the opportunity."

Riverdale Recently Wrapped Filming on Final Season

Earlier this week, the official Archie Comics Twitter account confirmed that Riverdale had wrapped production its seventh and final season. The series finale is scheduled to air on Wednesday, August 23rd.

"Production on #Riverdale has officially wrapped!" the tweet reads. "Thank you so much for taking this series into your heart, we can't wait to share these final episodes with you!"

Are you disappointed Ulrich won't be appearing in Riverdale's final season? Will you be tuning in to these final episodes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

New episodes of Riverdale air Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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