Comics were used over the years as a means of escapism. Superman provided a safe place for people during the war, giving America the story of a hero that always wins, and represented justice, truth, honor, and hope. Archie has similar origins, including the cartoon series that ran around the time of the Vietnam war and provided an outlet for children. They could escape from the tension of war, and immerse themselves in the lighthearted problems of the Riverdale kids.
“There’s definitely a noir vibe and David Lynchian sense of the macabre and the mysterious in the sense that there’s something curdling underneath this town and these characters,” said Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics, and Executive Producer to the CW show.
Riverdale has been compared to the classic show Twin Peaks. The first season will revolve around a murder, playing homage to the premise of the eerie and strange show with a perfect town that has a dark secret. The mystery of season one will be resolved by the end, leaving season two to deal with a new crime to solve. The body in question is Jason Blossom, brother to Cheryl Blossom. As Twin Peaks focused on the mysterious life of Laura Palmer, it’s safe to assume that Riverdale will do the same with Jason. The secrets of his life will no doubt bring in the center characters, and more than likely bring them to the focus of the mystery of ‘who killed Jason Blossom?’
“It became the perfect instrument to tap into – the way David [Lynch] did it – the yucky, icky, bubbling, dark secret beneath the perfect town. Everybody’s fascinated with that,” said Madchen Amick, who plays Alice Cooper (Betty’s mother) on the mystery of the show.
The beloved character of Jughead, Archie’s best friend, is also getting the modern make over and taking on a broody writer nature. However, one of the biggest questions die hard fans want to know is if the show will take on the later comics’ depiction of Jughead’s asexuality. Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), who plays the beloved character on Riverdale, is a major voice fighting for this as a future plot point. It was neither confirmed or denied whether this was a direction the character will go, for the show is being described as an origin story.
“Rather than have everything fully formed – for instance, we’re not going to start with Archie‘s band or Jughead’s asexuality or any of the things that have become canon – those are all stops on the way to the journey until the show catches up to 75 years of Archie history,” said Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
Of course no modern Archie would be complete without the classic love triangle between Veronica, Archie, and Betty. In true CW fashion, Veronica may be a mysterious new heiress, but her move to town isn’t a smooth transition. Though, her appearance may be what sparks a rebellion for Betty. The writers of the show didn’t want to forge a story of two women fighting over a man. They didn’t want to go the route of Archie picking one of them one day and the other the next day. Friction between them will in part stem from their feelings for Archie, but the writers have ensured that it won’t get in the way of the essence of their friendship.
“What I was really excited about was telling the story of the true friendship between these girls. That doesn’t mean they won’t fight or disagree about stuff. But I wanted their relationship to be about their friendship, and not about Archie,” said Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa on the friendship between Betty and Veronica.
Gone are the days where Archie and his friends have a life of levity and easy to fix problems. The new series is a much needed update to the Archie lore, bringing the beloved characters into a modern world. Today’s teenager doesn’t have a bright and bubbly life, for the world is a lot darker than the old Archie dictates. Riverdale will be taking this idealistic picket fence world and flipping it around to bring out a darker nature.
Look for Riverdale on the CW January 26, following Supernatural!
YouTube Channel: IGN
Featured image via Wikipedia
h/t Movie Pilot