By Clairissa Gonzalez | Staff Writer|
Fans of a certain age may remember Archie, the gangly, dorky, yet lovable nerd with an ever-present smile who made his debut in December 1941 in his first comic.
Well now the CW has delivered an Archie intended to make most of us swoon. And so far it’s working.
Gracing TV screens almost every Thursday night for the past few months, Riverdale is the CW’s newest hit drama.
The network’s dark surprising take on the original Archie Comics characters does not disappoint.
Warning: a spoiler alert is now in effect.
As a late midseason entry for the CW, Riverdale generated a lot of buzz for itself. So much, in fact, that it’s been moved to the leadoff slot Wednesday nights this upcoming fall.
The show kicks off with our main players Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller, Cheryl Blossom and the rest of Riverdale shocked, heartbroken and confused when one of the residents of their small town, Jason Blossom, is found dead.
The show begins just as those of us who are familiar with the comics would expect: the beginnings of a love triangle between Archie, Betty and Veronica. True to the comics Archie has complicated feelings for both girls.
And that’s about as canon as the show gets, with the student/teacher hook-ups, class wars, forbidden romance, teen pregnancy and murder mystery.
A surprising twist for most of the viewers came when brooding and somewhat depressing Jughead Jones found some happiness with Betty Cooper, who seems like an ethereal ball of sunshine.
This first season explored different sides of every character and left almost no stone unturned.
The murder itself sometimes took a backseat to other storylines, having the show focus on other aspects of life that didn’t revolve around that specific mystery.
Of course, plot points aside, Riverdale hit many of its viewers with a wave of nostalgia by casting Cole Sprouse as the intellectual and reserved Jughead Jones.
While Sprouse is a draw for those of us who used to watch Disney Channel, it should be noted that much of the main cast is made up of “unknowns.”
Riverdale will be Camila Mendes’s (Veronica Lodge) first acting credit, and the first major acting credit for KJ Apa (Archie Andrews).
With the success of its freshman season, it’s no surprise that Riverdale has already been renewed for another.
And for those of you who missed the season in its entirety, there’s good news: Netflix has all 13 episodes of mystery, drama, and scandal ready for your binging pleasure.
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