\n<\/p>\n
Ginchy! Riverdale<\/em><\/a> season 7 takes the characters back to the 1950s for the show\u2019s final season \u2014 where these cool cats are the\u00a0bees\u2019<\/span>\u00a0knees of high school for one more go-round.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really, really, really fun. It was creatively energizing for the writers when we landed on this concept,\u201d showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa<\/strong><\/a> told Decider<\/em> <\/a>in a March 2023 interview. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to tell stories about, you know, Betty [Cooper] being a therapist and treating people, and Archie trying to be a foster father to his uncle\u2019s long lost son, and Tabitha [Tate] franchising Pop\u2019s all over the country \u2026 We just kind of wanted to go back to high school, but we didn\u2019t want to repeat what we\u2019d done.\u201d<\/p>\n The concept of taking Archie Andrews\u00a0(KJ Apa<\/strong><\/a>) and his gang back in time was first introduced in the Season 6 finale after the group worked together to save themselves from a comet hurling toward their town.\u00a0The shift allowed the CW hit \u2014 which has been known for its dark tones and\u00a0bizarre<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>narratives<\/a> since it premiered in 2017 \u2014 to channel the original Archie Comics universe and showcase the characters reflecting their classic counterparts.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing back to the \u201950s allowed us to go back to the animating idea of the series, which is that there\u2019s a wholesome, innocent quality to these Archie\u00a0<\/i>Comics, but underneath there\u2019s these darker, more passionate roiling emotions and themes that we wanted to engage with,\u201d Aguirre-Sacasa explained. \u201cAnd the \u201950s veneer allowed us to do that in<\/a>, I thought, a new, fresher way.\u201d<\/p>\n However, just because the series is hopping back a few decades doesn\u2019t mean Riverdale<\/em> will lose what makes it unique. Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse<\/strong><\/a>) is seemingly aware something strange is afoot, with Aguirre-Sacasa telling\u00a0Screen Rant<\/span><\/em> in March 2023 that viewers should \u201cexpect\u201d to see the version of Riverdale<\/em> they\u2019re used to wrap up before the series finale<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for the show\u2019s stars, Apa told TV Line<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in May 2022 that fans should prepare for an epic conclusion. \u201cI promise you guys, this last season, we are going to end it with a bang, and we can\u2019t wait to share it with you,\u201d he gushed to the outlet.<\/p>\n The I Still Believe<\/em> actor\u2019s costar and onscreen\u00a0love interest Lili Reinhart<\/strong><\/a>, who portrays Betty on the series,<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>opened up to Entertainment Tonight<\/em><\/a> in August 2022 about what she\u2019d ending she\u2019d like to see for her character.<\/p>\n \u201cI would obviously like to see a happy ending for Betty, knowing that she will be OK \u2014 an optimistic, lighthearted note,\u201d she shared of her onscreen counterpart, who has faced a series of traumas\u00a0<\/b>since the show premiered in 2017. \u201cI don\u2019t know who she\u2019s gonna end up with or where, how, why, when<\/a> \u2014 I know nothing about the final season \u2014 but I just hope that she\u2019s happy, and you have an idea that things are gonna settle down for her in the best way.\u201d<\/p>\n