Archie is Officially Coming to the CW with ‘Riverdale’

Through the last five years, we’ve seen Archie Comics jump from an almost-forgotten, static comic book company banking on past glories to one of the best publishers of 2014 and 2015. Archie Comics finally gave their characters much-needed character growth with the Life With Archie series, before dabbling with horror in Afterlife with Archie and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. After killing off Archie Andrews (in the best way possible) in the conclusion of Life With Archie, 2015 saw the release of the rebooted Archie series with comic book legend Mark Waid on writing duties. It debuted to critical acclaim, and it is personally one of my favorite comics of the year.

Word of an Archie TV show has been around for a while now, and we finally get a confirmation that it is coming, with the recent announcement that the Riverdale pilot has been picked up by the CW, home of comic book adaptations The Flash, Arrow, iZombie, and Legends of Tomorrow.

Here’s the press release from Archie Comics:

2016 is sure to be a major year for Archie Comics, as America’s Favorite Teenager celebrates 75 years of existence. But the party kicked off in a major way today with news that The CW has officially picked up the pilot episode for the live-action “Riverdale” TV series, to start filming this spring.

The one-hour drama will be written by Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and produced by Warner Brothers Studios and Berlanti Productions and has been described as a subversive take on the classic Archie mythos. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, Jon Goldwater, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa serve as executive producers.

The live-action series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica, and their friends, exploring small-town life and the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade. The show will focus on the eternal love triangle of Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper, and rich socialite Veronica Lodge, and will include the entire cast of characters from the comic books—including Archie’s rival, Reggie Mantle, and his slacker best friend, Jughead Jones.

Popular gay character Kevin Keller will also play a pivotal role. In addition to the core cast, “Riverdale” will introduce other characters from Archie Comics’ expansive library, including Josie and the Pussycats.

With Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Greg Berlanti running the show, I’m quite confident that they’ll be able to pull this off. I hope they borrow wholesale from Mark Waid’s series, because that is probably the best way to ensure Riverdale‘s success.

Seriously, Archie Comics, it would take a colossal effort to tank Riverdale. You’d have to do something like Return to Riverdale to suck.

Please don’t suck.