Riverdale Season 5 Trailer Released by The CW

Get ready for a new era of The CW's Riverdale, as the first look at the show's fifth season has officially arrived. On Wednesday, the network debuted a minute-long trailer for the show's upcoming fifth season, which is set to premiere next month after delays tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. As showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tweeted upon the trailer's debut, the footage only reveals details surrounding the season's first few episodes, which will conclude the high school-set storylines for many of the show's teenage characters, something that was briefly put on pause amid the pandemic. Based on the trailer, that looks like some major milestones like prom and high school graduation -- as well as whatever's going on with the mysterious tapes being delivered across the town.

"It's funny, we had shot almost two-thirds of episode 20, which was going to be our prom episode. And we looked at that footage and tried to see if there was a way we could cobble together that episode," Aguirre-Sacasa explained back in May. "We actually had shot the prom, where a lot of very dramatic things happen, but we still hadn't shot some big character moments between Archie and Veronica and Betty and Jughead. So we kind of just couldn't do that."

"However, when I saw the cut of 19, what's great about it is all of the kids are in one big story together united against Mr. Honey. And it does end on a pretty shocking, disturbing cliffhanger," Aguirre-Sacasa continued. "So, it sort of was like, "Oh wait a minute, this could be a great season finale" and then prom would be a great season premiere next year. So it worked out in kind of the best way possible given everything. Obviously we would have loved to have finished the full season, and the last three episodes are fantastic. But to me, this one is fun. It's a special conceit and it brings everyone together, which I think people love."

Once those storylines commence and Riverdale's ensemble gets out of high school, the show will be jumping forward at least five years in time, to follow the characters on their post-college trajectories as adults.

"Season 5 we're actually doing, I believe, a seven-year time jump into the future so we're not going to be teenagers anymore," Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty Cooper on the series, revealed in an interview earlier this year. "I'm really psyched about it. I think it'll be nice to play an adult. But I also really appreciate that Roberto, our showrunner, was like, 'Yeah, let's revamp.' You know, we're not just stuck in high school for seven seasons."

What do you think of the first trailer for Riverdale Season 5? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Season 5 of Riverdale is expected to debut on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, on The CW.