Riverdale offers first look at flashback season
Archie and the rest of the gang will be heading back to the 1950s for their final season.
Archie Comics inspired series Riverdale is coming to an end with its upcoming seventh season, but as has often been the case with the genre-bending series, it's certainly not doing things by the book.
Riverdale season 7 will be set in the 1950s, after the entire town was somehow transported back there at the end of season 6. Now, it has been revealed as part of Entertainment Weekly's 2023 TV preview, that Archie, Veronica and the rest of the gang will be back in high school in the new episodes, and that Jughead will be the only one of the group to remember their previous lives.
Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed to the publication: "This conceit for season 7 feels both very unexpected and yet completely inevitable. Thank god the '50s were as crazy as they were, because it's been so fun to be in that world."
Entertainment Weekly also released a set of images from the new season, including the below look at Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper and Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge in their new 1950s looks.
Aguirre-Sacasa also revealed that elements of the character's backstories and personalities will be changed, with Veronica becoming a Californian rather than a New Yorker, Archie becoming "much more innocent" than he has previously been depicted and Fangs becoming a "greaser rocker".
Meanwhile, Aguirre-Sacasa said that the new conceit for this season has allowed the show to go "back to basics" in its relationships, with the new season showing "the kids in high school discovering themselves, the kids having their first times".
However, he also said that "something very, very dark happens at the end of episode 2". When pushed as to whether this meant a new villain, Aguirre-Sacasa said: "It's more about our characters finding their way in the constricting, dark realities of the 1950s, trying to discover themselves in a really repressive, conformist, homophobic, racist world.
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"The biggest struggle is our characters trying to live authentic individualistic lives during a time period where that was really hard to do. It's probably, weirdly, our most grounded season"
It has not yet been revealed exactly when the new season will air on The CW in the US or on Netflix in the UK, but it seems fans will be in for a time-twisting treat when it does arrive.
Riverdale seasons 1-6 are available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Looking for something else to watch? Visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
