The most refreshing thing about The CW’s Riverdale is the network going back to its roots a bit with this fresh new series. Before The CW became the home for all things DC Comics, it set the tone for shows about teens behaving badly with sleek production values and a cast of characters that provided eye candy for all of its fans.
Gossip Girl did it first for this kind of show during the early days of The CW but networks like ABC Family (now Freeform) began to corner the market on this niche when they launched the instantly popular, Pretty Little Liars. Due to that success, The CW changed its tone drastically and became the home of the superhero with a dash of Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend appeasing its female demographic.
Riverdale has the old school CW mentality running through its DNA. Developed and written by Archie Comics chief creative officer Roberto Aguire-Sacasa, who has been expanding the decades-old franchise to all kinds of new places for the past few years, the show is clearly influenced by hits of the past paying homage to them very well while also crafting its own dark and unique style. Think a young Twin Peaks with a dash of Gossip Girl and Beverly Hill 90210, which is brought to a simmer with a bit of Barry Levinson’s Diner and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders.
The show boasts an attractive, but also very talented cast, that goes all in with the material. From K.J. Apa as the conflicted and wide-eyed redheaded Archie to the standout amongst the cast, Camila Mendes as the new and former rich girl in town Veronica, the performers don’t really miss a beat. It’s easy for a show like this to rely on the looks of its cast and fly by on that but there is evident potential here from all involved. Hell, even former The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star Cole Sprouse gives a suitably broody and mysterious portrayal as Jughead.
For all the influences that the show does possess, when you are drawing upon more than 75 years of source material and trying to reinvent Archie as we know it, it all comes down to the writing and that happens to be the show’s strongest suit in its pilot episode. The show sets things up well with its initial premise. In the sleepy town of Riverdale, high school student Jason Blossom drowned in the river over the summer under mysterious circumstances and his body was never recovered.
When the new school year starts, Veronica Lodge moves into town with her mother who fled from New York City following a scandal with her estranged husband. Veronica is befriended by the awkward Betty Cooper and football star Archie Andrews. Archie wishes to give up both football and a job at his father’s factory to pursue music but is rejected from lessons with local musician, Josie McCoy. He resorts to asking his music teacher, Miss Grundy, whom he had an affair with over the summer. Veronica and Betty later audition for their school’s cheerleading squad, the Riverdale Vixens, led by Jason’s bitter twin, Cheryl. By the end of the episode, Betty’s friend Kevin Keller attempts to have sex with football player, Moose, near the river. It’s there where they discover Jason’s body washed ashore, seeing a gunshot wound in his forehead.
That is a lot to take in for one episode but the writing is taut and precise enough to handle all the narrative flows. The mystery is intriguing but the interplay between all the characters is also worthy of a mention. Teen shows can lose me when they fall too far into angst but I think Riverdale will find the proper balance. Also in its favor is a highly intoxicating visual style that really makes it stand out. Out of all The CW shows currently on the air, Riverdale has the most signature look and it adds to the eeriness of the mood the show is attempting to create.
Riverdale is refreshing and decidedly offbeat. It frequently plays homage to the great shows that came before while crafting its own voice through re-imagining its wholesome source material. This isn’t your mom and dad’s take on Archie Comics but it’s certainly an after dark take for a new generation.
This isn’t your mom and dad’s take on Archie Comics but it’s certainly an after dark take for a new generation.
Reel Talk gives Riverdale 3 Reels
