Riverdale boss confirms game-changing time jump when series returns
Riverdale season 4 has arrived on Netflix US. (Netflix)
Riverdale season 5 will wrap up the clipped prom and graduation plot left hanging due to coronavirus, before jumping ahead a number of years.
Season 4 of the teen drama arrived on Netflix in the US Thursday (May 14) with a truncated run, after the coronavirus pandemic forced production to shut down after 19 out of a planned 22 episodes were filmed.
Fortunately the teen drama was renewed for a fifth season back in January.
Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has confirmed his plans for the series’ return, revealing that the first three episodes of season 5 will “pick up right where we left off”, with Archie and the gang finishing up senior year with graduation and prom.
“And then [we’re] doing a time jump… after those three episodes,” he told TVLine, confirming that the remainder of the season will be set some years in the future.
Riverdale season 5 will jump past the college years.
The decision means fans will skip past the characters’ college years, picking up with them as they return to Riverdale.
Part of the reason for the time jump is presumably to bring the characters’ ages in line with those of the actors playing them.
Riverdale actor Madchen Amick, who plays Betty’s mom Alice Cooper, had previously hinted at the time jump.
She teased that a big event would bring the gang back together after their time in college, telling TVLine: “What that is, who knows? But something clearly is going to bring all our favourite characters back to town and involved in some new thrilling adventure, I’m sure.”
Riverdale season 4 arrives on Netflix short three episodes.
Spoilers for season 4 follow.
Aguirre-Sacasa has already confirmed that Skeet Ulrich (F.P. Jones) and Marisol Nichols (Hermione Lodge) will be back for the pre-time jump episodes of season 5.
Both actors were set to bow out at the end of season 4, but will be back to film their characters’ planned endings.
The showrunner has confirmed that neither will be killed off, telling TVLine: “My hope is that they are a part of Riverdale in a real way as long as there’s a Riverdale.”
He added the there will be a fallout to Archie and Betty’s shock kiss.
“There are major, major repercussions for what Betty and Archie did that go down at prom, in true teen drama fashion. So no, we haven’t seen the end of that story by a long shot.”
Among the latest batch of episodes on Netflix is a Hedwig and the Angry Inch musical tribute, which “celebrates identities, genders, expressions of all kinds”. The new season also continues Cheryl and Toni’s romance.
Riverdale season 4 is streaming on Netflix now.
