Since debuting in 2017, Riverdale has pushed the boundaries of network television by placing
the familiar and formerly innocuous characters of Archie Comics into increasingly outlandish
plots.
Season 4 is set to premiere in the fall of 2019, and we've got everything you need to
know.
The first season of Riverdale hit the CW as a midseason addition in January 2017.
That first short set of 13 episodes proved so popular that the CW brought the show back
as quickly as possible, promoting it to a fall debut for season number two with a full
order of 22 episodes.
Beginning with season two and into season three, Riverdale led off the CW's Wednesday
night programming, airing at 8 p.m.
That's not broken, so the network isn't going to fix it: Riverdale will continue on its
fourth season with that same Wednesdays at 8:00 time slot.
On June 17, 2019, the official Riverdale Instagram page gave fans the exact date when the show
would return: October 9th.
It will serve as the lead in to a similar "old concept, new approach" mystery show:
Nancy Drew.
On March 4th, 2019, Riverdale cast member Luke Perry died suddenly at the age of 52,
shortly after suffering a stroke.
The first episode to air after the passing of the actor, who played Archie's sweet father
Fred Andrews, came with a title card reading, "In Memoriam: Luke Perry, 1966–2019."
The final installment to feature Perry as Andrews debuted in late April, with the actor's
final scene being a one-on-one with Archie, offering his boy words of guidance and encouragement.
Riverdale writers didn't explicitly deal with the fate of Fred in season three, but will
in season four.
On June 19th, 2019, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tweeted out the title page of the script for
the first episode of season four, and it's titled "Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam."
"Probably the most important episode of Riverdale we'll do this year, if not ever.
A tribute to our fallen friend.
Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred."
This heavily implies that the Fred Andrews character will be laid to rest.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Aguirre-Sacasa announced that the episode would feature a
special guest star: Shannen Doherty, Perry's iconic screen partner from their "Dylan and
Brenda" days on Beverly Hills, 90210.
Apart from the tragic loss of Luke Perry as Fred Andrews, the main cast of Riverdale will
all be back for season four.
The series will also welcome some high-profile guest stars, both familiar and brand-new.
Archie's parents are divorced, and his mother lived far away, so Molly Ringwald only appeared
occasionally as Mary Andrews.
With the loss of Perry, Ringwald will likely up her involvement.
Aguirre-Sacasa told TV Line in May of 2019,
"We've talked about Molly having a bigger presence next year to help her son."
Chad Michael Murray will also return as Edgar Evernever, the creepy yet charming leader
of the Farm, the bizarre, organ-harvesting cult that tore Betty's family apart.
And on that subject, Wyatt Nash is set for a recurring arc as Charles Smith, an FBI agent
who also happens to be Betty's long-lost brother.
At Riverdale High, teen TV veteran Kerr Smith will play tough new school principal Mr. Honey.
Sam Witwer, best known for his roles as Mr. Hyde on Once Upon a Time and Agent Liberty
on Supergirl, will join the show as a troubled writing teacher who becomes a mentor figure
for Jughead when the crown-wearing kid ships off to a fancy prep school.
The fourth season of Riverdale will also mark its characters' fourth year at Riverdale High.
Senior year is an important time for so many teenagers, and it will be for Archie and the
gang, too.
It figures so large in their lives that regular, normal high school stuff will take prominence
in the action of Riverdale's upcoming episodes.
Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica, told Entertainment Weekly at Comic-Con,
"Season four is definitely senior year, high school-focused, more about relationships and
those dynamics."
Meanwhile, Jughead's time away from Riverdale could prove problematic for his relationship
with Betty, according to actor Cole Sprouse, who told Entertainment Tonight,
"[Jughead's] only back in Riverdale on the weekends.
I think that is going to inevitably put stress on the relationship between Betty and Jughead.
I think it might be a little bit tense.
They might fall, turn away from each other, only to come back together way stronger."
But will teen drama supplant pitch-black plots like the Black Hood's killing spree, or Archie's
involvement in a deadly underground boxing ring?
"You're doin' great, Arch."
"How many of these guys am I fighting?!"
Not quite.
Mendes added that Riverdale will certainly explore "the mystery of what we saw at the
end of season three": a bleak flash-forward depicting a blood-soaked Archie, Betty, and
Veronica.
Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty, also promises that early in Season 4, the show will introduce
another major mystery.
Riverdale can't always be about mystery-solving teens in grave danger.
Every so often, the series breaks the tension with a fun high-concept episode.
A 2018 installment flashed back to Riverdale High twenty-something years ago, centering
on the antics of the present-day adults of Riverdale when they were teens, and portrayed
by the show's young cast members.
A few months later, a meta, self-referential episode found Riverdale High's drama club
staging a musical production of the high school cult classic Heathers.
"Now how in God's name is a play about teen violence and suicide a good idea in Riverdale?"
Riverdale Season 4 will offer at least one such novelty installment: the fourth episode
of the season, airing on October 30th, marks the show's first ever Halloween-themed chapter.
Aguirre-Sacasa mentioned it during the show's Comic-Con panel, saying,
"We've got a really fun, spooky episode for everyone...I know what Archie's gonna be dressed
as, and we're trying to get clearance on some DC comic book characters."
Considering that Riverdale shares a network with DC's "Arrowverse" shows, we may be in
for some tongue-in-cheek superhero-related Halloween fun.
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