Stock up on Jingle Jangle and reserve your seat at Pop's because Riverdale is coming back for a third season. This is great (but also totally expected) news for fans of the CW's gritty reimagining of the Archie Comics world.
Here, everything we know about the third season.
Premiere Date
You're going to have to hang tight for this one. Riverdale will return to the CW on Wednesday, October 10 at 8 p.m.
Archie and Veronica May Be...Over
Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica, teased that there may be some trouble brewing between Archie and Veronica. "There’s a struggle,” Camila Mendes told US Weekly at Comic-Con. “They are going to struggle in their relationship...and there might be someone else.”
Veronica Acknowledges That Her Dad Is a Terrible Person
“I feel like in season two, she was a trying to decide if her dad was a bad person. And I feel like in season three, she’s decided he’s a bad person. Took her long enough,” Mendes adds. “I think there’s gonna be so much more of a clear battle between Hiram and Veronica because now, she owns Pop’s. She’s cut off financially and has to support herself, and her father’s constantly trying to get in her way of that.”
Something Supernatural May Happen
“It’s not necessarily magic, but there's something that’s happening in the town that nobody really understands,” says Mendes.
There's Two New Characters
Expect to meet two new characters in season three: Edgar Evernever and his daughter, Evelyn. According to The Hashtag Show, the Evernevers are likely to shake things up with both Alice and Betty. Evelyn is rumored to befriend Betty (but maybe, probably, definitely doesn't have the best intentions), and Edgar is said to become a guru-like figure for Alice. Here's hoping this means Riverdale will get its own cult—that may be the only thing this creepy town is missing.
Major Plot Points, According to the Show's Creator
After a wild season two finale (hi, new Serpent Cheryl Blossom), there are many questions about where the show will head next season. Luckily, Riverdale creator Robert Aguirre-Sacasa offers up a few answers in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Betty will continue to explore her darkness.
"For two seasons, we've been exploring Betty's darkness, and I think that will always be a part of her character. It felt like the black wig did take on a life of its own. With the darkness, either Betty was denying it or it was controlling her. There was a struggle to understand it. I think that will continue," explains Aguirre-Sacasa.
"Again, rather than do another season of Betty struggling with her darkness, she's dealing with it another way or turning away from it or controlling it. Lili is such a wonderful actress that you, of course, want to give dark, dramatic material to. But I was so happy to see her in the finale smiling in the hotel room and walk away from the darkness that I don't want to deny that part of her as well."
Archie and Hiram will face off against each other.
In the same interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Aguirre-Sacasa reveals Archie and Hiram will continue to battle against each other.
"This season, Archie was sort of intoxicated by Hiram—his power and the way he moves through the world and his ruthless ideals. Archie kind of came back to the good guys' side by the end of the season, but there are consequences for what he's done this season. He and Hiram are squaring off, so I think that will be one of the main conflicts of season three, for sure."
We're going to learn more about the Serpents.
"Is it the same Serpents, or have they changed? How many are there? What are they doing now? I think these are core questions that the show will address head-on," says Aguirre-Sacasa.
The Genre Will Evolve
Aguirre-Sacasa continues, "I think what started in my mind as a traditional coming-of-age show quickly morphed into something that was a little pulpier, something that was more noir, something that had a suspense or crime element. Yes, in season one, we did a murder mystery, and in season two, we did a serial killer in a small town and The Godfather in a small town."
"Season three will have a high genre element like that. That's what the show is. It's not just about the Archie characters. It's the Archie characters put into a specific genre, and we see how they relate and survive and adapt."
We All Might Have Missed a Spoiler in Season Two
In the same Hollywood Reporter interview, Aguirre-Sacasa tells fans to look back at season two, episode seven to get a glimpse into what we might learn about in season three. FYI, that was the episode with Penny and Jughead. You know...the one. Read a full recap of the episode here.
This post will continue to be updated as more news, casting updates, and spoilers become available.
