The Archie comic series follows a group of high-school friends and their escapades. The comics explore themes such as love, relationships and friendship and utilise humour and comedy as their main storytelling element. The TV series, however, aims to take the characters into a more mature setting.
The story takes place in the fictional town of Riverdale, where all the characters live. The story opens at the beginning of a new school year after a few monumental events happen during the summer break. Firstly, the death of school student Jason Blossom has shocked the whole town. Secondly, Archie Andrews (played by KJ Apa) decides to pursue a career in music instead of following his father’s career path. Archie doesn’t have anyone to guide him since the end of his taboo relationship with his young music teacher Ms Grundy. A new student named Veronica Lodge (played by Camila Mendes) arrives in town and soon takes an interest in Archie, much to the dismay of Betty Cooper (played by Lili Reinhart), who has had a crush on Archie for a long time. The character relationships are complicated by
the mischievous Cheryl Blossom (portrayed by Madelaine Petsch), twin sister of recently deceased Jason Blossom, who has secrets about her brother’s mysterious death.
Riverdale co-creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa noted that the show took inspiration from Twin Peaks, a crime-drama series that ran from April 1990 to June 1991. The show is set to air during the 2016-2017 mid-season, with the premiere date tentatively set for January/ February 2017 on The CW, the television network known for popular series such as Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and Supernatural.
Illustration: Lene Stroebel
