by 
Updated on December 10, 2021
News came out earlier today that Fox will be airing a dramatic live-action series based on Archie, named “Riverdale.” Details at the link below:
Berlanti Set to Produce Archie Comics Drama “Riverdale” for Fox – Comic Book Resources.
It sounds like it might be like the recently-ended series “Life With Archie,” set in the gang’s adulthoods in two possible futures. However, “Riverdale” will take place in the usual present-day setting. Nice that Kevin Keller will get a role, though I’d hope for the sake of racial diversity that Chuck, Nancy, Ginger, and even Valerie will get screen time. Valerie sounds strongly likely, since the article mentions wanting to include Josie and the Pussycats. And of course, unlike “Gotham,” this show-named-after-a-comic-book-town will actually star its usual protagonists.
I always thought Archie would make a good premise for a Disney Channel or Nickelodeon live-action sitcom, so a one-hour primetime drama on Fox is surprising news. Given the track record for Fox TV shows that aren’t cartoons, I’m not sure how long-lived this series will last. It’s also odd that it’s airing on Fox, and not a more young adult-oriented network like the CW. (“Riverdale”‘s producer also heads the CW’s “Flash” and “Arrow” series.) Maybe someone at Fox remembered the Archie-meets-“Glee” crossover?
This won’t be the first live-action series for Archie characters, of course. Archie had a radio show in the 1940s. There’s also the 1990 made-for-TV movie “Back to Riverdale,” as well as the 2001 “Josie and the Pussycats” theatrical film. And, of course, there’s the famous 90s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” sitcom.
And since it’s probably obligatory, here’s the famed “Simpsons” “crossover” with Archie, though it leaves out Homer’ s hilarious follow-up line about “stuck up Riverdale punks…think they’re too good for me”:
Also, here’s a hilarious Canadian-made parody trailer for a fake upcoming drama named, well, “Riverdale.” It includes both every soap opera element one can think of, and every joke about Archie over the years one’s heard.
