Riverdale Star Lili Reinhart Teases Series Finale
When Riverdale returns for its seventh season in 2023, it will mark the end of an era with the new season of the fan-favorite, Archie Comics inspired series being its last. But while there's still a lot of story to tell with that final season — which will see the show heading back to the Americana of the 1950s after an absolutely bonkers Season 6 — it sounds like it will all end "beautifully". Series star Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty Cooper, told Extra that she feels like fans will appreciate how the series ends when we finally get to the finale.
"It's going to be closed out really beautifully and I think the fans who have been along for the ride since Season 1 are going to really appreciate our ending," Reinhart said.
Why is Riverdale's final season set in the 1950s?
"At various points in the season, we had talked about what our last season could be, and various people had been very nostalgic about when the kids were in high school," showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa previously said of the 1950s twist. "KJ Apa said to me at some point, 'Man, remember when we were in high school, and I was on the football team?' And Mark Pedowitz at the CW had a conversation with Jon Goldwater and said something like, "Oh remember when the kids were in high school?" We talked about it in the room, and we were sort of like, gosh, could we go back and put everyone back in high school? But we've done that. They were in high school for four-plus years. It would feel like a repeat. So, we were in a conundrum."
He continued, "It felt like all we're going to do for season 7 is sort of a lesser version of the high school years. But in thinking about nostalgia and then coming off of our big supernatural, mythic, Steven King-like season, we knew we needed to make our last season really, really special. One thing everyone can agree on is that whenever we have our characters in their iconic comic book outfits from the 1950s, people are delighted. Cole [Sprouse] was so happy when he didn't have to wear the beanie again, but he said to me, 'But, man, I'll wear that crown till the day I die.' So, we thought: What if we go back to high school, but instead of high school in the present, we make it high school in the 1950s which is how a lot of people think of the Archie characters."
Riverdale's seventh and final season will premiere in early 2023 on The CW.