Riverdale Star Vanessa Morgan’s Pregnancy Is Being Written Into Season 5

Earlier this summer Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan, who plays Toni Topaz on The CW series, revealed that she was expecting her first child. Now with Morgan’s maternity leave beginning ahead of the child’s birth the actress has confirmed that her pregnancy and absence will be written into the upcoming fifth season of the hit Archie Comics inspired series. “Officially on maternity leave!!!! Ahh!!” Morgan wrote on Instagram. “Feeling grateful to my showrunner & producers for being so accommodating & writing my pregnancy into the show! Also proud of my body for allowing me to still work almost 9 months preggo. Now time to have a baby! lol Happy Holidays everyone”

Morgan previously confirmed her pregnancy after weighing whether to keep it a secret from the public. At the time she wrote: “Was debating keeping this part of my life hidden but I knew people would see pictures eventually with my belly & I wanted you guys to hear it from me. I do want to keep this chapter of my life private but did want to be the first to share the news. I am overjoyed to be welcoming my baby boy into the world this January 💙 It’s almost like everything I thought mattered in this life has completely changed. We’re here for such a greater purpose and life is so precious.”

Morgan made headlines earlier this year, months before her pregnancy announcement, after criticizing the producers of Riverdale. After her initial, fairly general comments about how entertainment depicts characters of color and the sorts of roles actors of color are called upon to play, things got more personal. Saying that she knew her castmates had her back, commented about the way her character was written and her pay rate put management firmly in the crosshairs. She noted in response to one fan’s comments that she is “the only Black series regular, but also paid the least.”

Riverdale executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa released a statement following her tweets on the matter, saying that they hear her and would do better to honor her and the character she plays.

Season 5 of Riverdale is expected to debut on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, on The CW. The series will jump ahead in time at some point in its new episodes with the first batch set to conclude the high school-set storylines for many of the show’s teenage characters.