Comic-Con: Archie's a hunk, Ms. Grundy's hot in 'Riverdale'
SAN DIEGO — Archie Andrews has more on his mind than just Betty and Veronica in Riverdale, CW's midseason take on the popular red-headed comic-book character.
Some things don't change as Archie (KJ Apa) still can't decide between the two love interests. But a mystery surrounding the death of a local teen provides a Twin Peaks-style twist for Riverdale, which features an eye-catching young cast — picture Archie with abs and a sexy, 20-something Ms. Grundy — that would have made CW predecessor WB proud.
"The show is going to be a lot darker than what you'd expect, (but) still pretty humorous," Apa tells USA TODAY. "It's getting deeper into the lives of these characters."
The small-screen makeover echoes one in the comic books, where updated characters, in addition to the traditional ones, give the 75-year-old franchise a contemporary feel. Executive producers include Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, chief creative officer of Archie Comics, and Greg Berlanti, who has enjoyed substantial success bringing comic-book characters to TV (CW's Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow).
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Lifelong fan Aguirre-Sacasa says Riverdale remains faithful to the Archie canon, with familiar characters and places, including Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe. But a surreal current also runs through the small town, and the death of Riverdale High student Jason Blossom reveals underlying fissures.
"On the one hand, it is absolutely the Archie you know and love from the comic books. It's the love triangle, it's Archie wanting to be a musician but also (being) on the football team. It's Betty and Veronica and Archie having the milkshake at Pop's," Aguirre-Sacasa tells USA TODAY before a Comic-Con screening and panel Saturday. (The pilot received plenty of applause, but an emotional Archie-Betty scene drew some unintended laughter.)
"We wanted to make sure that in addition to the coming-of-age story there was an engine that took us through this story," he says. "I thought if we ever do an Archie show, we should call it Riverdale because it's about everyone who lives in that town the way Twin Peaks is about everyone who lives in that town."
If anything, Archie's love life is even more complicated. Girl-next-door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and rich girl Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) remain potential love interests, but he's distracted by another romantic partner, music teacher Geraldine Grundy (Sarah Habel).
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"I guess that's a really inappropriate kind of romance he has going on there," Apa says. Archie has a "passion for music where he needed classes from her to work on his craft and it turns into something a bit more than he was expecting."
The series features other familiar comic-book characters with some added complexity, including Jughead (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody's Cole Sprouse), Kevin Keller and Moose. Three African-American teens make up Josie (Ashleigh Murray) and the Pussycats and a minor comic-book character, Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), becomes a potential foe as the sister of deceased Jason Blossom.
On the parental side, Luke Perry, who knows something about teen drama from his time on Beverly Hills, 90210, plays Archie's father, Fred; Twin Peaks' Mädchen Amick plays Betty's mom, Alice; and 24's Marisol Nichols plays Veronica's mother, Hermione.
By season's end, producers promise the death mystery will be resolved and Apa suggests viewers may receive an answer to an age-old question. "Archie possibly makes his mind up between (Betty and Veronica). But who knows how long it's going to last?" he says. "He's really indecisive with most things."
