Riverdale Showrunner Addresses Skeet Ulrich and Marisol Nichols’ Exits

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown much of the television world into disarray, as many network shows are being forced to end earlier than planned. One of the latest examples of this was The CW’s Riverdale, which wrapped up an abridged fourth season earlier this week. With the timeline of when filming will resume – much less when the series will premiere – still up in the air, some questions have begun to pop up. Namely, the exit of two of the series’ stars, Skeet Ulrich and Marisol Nichols, which were initially announced pre-pandemic. As showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa recently explained to Entertainment Weekly, the nature of production being shut down means that both actors, who play F.P. Jones and Hermione Lodge on the series, respectively, will still film their proper goodbyes once Season 5 starts filming.

“Yeah, I’ve talked to all the actors and I called Marisol and Skeet and I said, ‘You know guys, obviously we still want to finish the stories we started in the season.’” Aguirre-Sacasa explained. “And both of them were like, ‘Of course, let’s do it.’ And again, neither Hermione nor F.P., this isn’t a spoiler, but they’re not dying. My hope is to have them be a part of Riverdale for as long as Riverdale continues.”

This update – as well as the confirmation that neither character is kicking the bucket – is definitely good news for fans of the series, especially given how popular the show’s roster of parents has become.

“Part of life in Riverdale — and part of growing up — is saying goodbye to people,” Aguirre-Sacasa said in a statement when the exits were first announced. “I’m grateful to Skeet and Marisol for their incredible work on the show these last four years, and we all wish them well on their future endeavors. F.P. and Hermione will never be far from our hearts. And, of course, they’re always welcome back in Riverdale.”

It will also be interesting to see how those exits factor into Season 5 overall, as the series still has some pretty major plot points to deal with.

“We had written episodes 20, 21, and 22 and when we talked about season 5 and some of the big events like prom and graduation, it would feel like a cheat if we somehow didn’t do those,” Aguirre-Sacasa revealed. “So we’re essentially starting the season with the last three episodes of season 4, and partly because they’re dynamite episodes. I mean big, big, big changes happen. We are continuing the mystery and the relationship drama straight into season 5.”

Are you excited to see how Riverdale handles things in Season 5? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!