The CW Cancels 'Riverdale' After 7 Wild Seasons
Riverdale is no more.
The CW announced today that it will be canceling it's often-too-wild-to-believe adaptation of Archie Comics characters at the end of its seventh season.
“I am a big believer of giving series that have had a long run an appropriate send-off. We had a long conversation with Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] yesterday and he is thrilled with the decision,” CW boss Mark Pedowitz said. “We are going to treat the show in the manner it deserves. It’s been an iconic pop culture star and we want to make sure that it goes out the right way.”
The show started off as a “dark and gritty” version of the Archie comics, with Ms. Grundy molesting a sophomore Archie and then a serial killer murdering her. The show continued to get even wilder from there, adding teen gangs, a prison stay for Archie, human sacrifices, cults, time skips, Moth Men, superpowers, Eldritch horrors, time travel, and just about every other twist you can imagine.
Riverdale featured quite a few queer characters as well, including Kevin Keller, a gay character who was introduced into the Archie comics in 2010. Keller has had several relationships on the show, including with Southside Serpents gang member Joaquin DeSantos, and closeted jock Moose Mason.
It also made one classic character, Cheryl Blossom into a lesbian, and had her come out thanks to a relationship with Toni Topaz, a Black bisexual character. She also later had a relationship with Minerva Marble.
Other queer characters on the show include the bisexual Fangs Fogarty, Josie and the Pussycats member Melody Valentine, firefighter Bernardo Bixby, and Britta Beach.
The show also launched Lili Reinhart’s career. The 25-year-old actress, who stars as Betty on the show, publicly came out as bisexual in 2020. She came out while promoting a LGBTQ+ led protest for Black Lives Matter, saying, “Although I’ve never announced it publicly before, I am a proud bisexual woman, and I will be joining this protest today.”
Riverdale joins a whole avalanche of cancellations at The CW, including Legacies, Charmed, In The Dark, 4400, Dynasty, Roswell, New Mexico, and the DC superhero shows Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Naomi.
Riverdale’s seventh and final season will debut midseason on The CW.
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