Riverdale to End With Season 7

The CW revealed its 2022-2023 broadcast schedule today, including the news that Riverdale will end after its seventh season, which will debut at midseason. The long-running series, based on characters from Archie Comics but twisted through a Twin Peaks lens, debuted in 2017 to solid ratings, but became a sensation when it dropped on Netflix and became the company's most-watched series across digital platforms. It has remained popular, but lost some of its luster in recent years. Based on characters who have been in high school for more than 50 years, Riverdale has struggled to adjust to the realities of having actors who...well...age.

In season five, the show jumped forward in time, bringing the characters more in line with the ages of the actors who actually played them. Unfortunately, the shake-up this gave the status quo left some fans cold.

Riverdale comes from Berlanti Productions, who have delivered hits like The Flash and Arrow to the network as well. Following Riverdale's success, Berlanti tried to capitalize with a pair of Archie adaptations. The CW's own Katy Keene was a direct spinoff to Riverdale but took place a few years in the future, limiting its ability to cross over. Characters from the show appeared on Riverdale after the time-jump, but by then Keene had been cancelled. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was not a direct spinoff to Riverdale, and shared relatively little DNA. The Netflix original ran for two years, and after its cancellation, the title character made her way to Riverdale for a brief appearance earlier this season.

Berlanti Productions was also the home of recently-cancelled series DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. Berlanti still has a number of shows on The CW, including Stargirl and the highly-rated All-American series. Berlanti underwrites Doom Patrol and The Flight Attendant at HBO Max.

While The CW has cancelled about half of its shows this year, a huge shift from recent years in which they renewed basically everything, the end of Riverdale isn't exactly a surprise. Review scores and social media impressions have sunk, and more than one of the actors have been quoted as saying they expected it would be over soon. That the series got a "seventh and final" renewal at a time when other shows ended abruptly, is a testament to its status as one of the network's longest-running hits.