Riverdale

Full disclosure: I like a good prestige cable drama as much as the next girl, but I also happen to love Lifetime/Hallmark movies (especially Christmas-themed ones, duh). So my first pick is a new show that lands somewhere in the middle. We're just halfway through the first season of Riverdale, and I am full-on obsessed. As a kid, I was a big fan of the comics (I used to carry a few issues around with me in a hot pink Trolls pencil box just in case I had some downtime – yeah, I was awesome and Rory Gilmore-esque like that), so I was a little wary of this sexy, Twins Peaks-influenced adaptation. But it’s sooo good, you guys. It’s nostalgic yet fresh, soapy yet smart, silly yet stylish. In short: SO. MUCH. FUN.

Let’s start with the casting/characters. The core three are played by relative unknowns, but they are all perfect. K.J. Apa is our new “hot” Archie. Rocking an impressive six-pack and a terrible dye job, he perfectly encapsulates the quintessential Archie Andrews blend of sweet and obtuse. He’s believable as both a cutie-pie jock and a brooding musician, and yet he’s still… an insensitive dumdum. Exactly as it should be. I, like many Archie Comics readers, was always captivated by the Betty-Archie-Veronica love triangle while secretly believing both girls could do better. In the Riverdale pilot, mysterious new girl Veronica is intrigued by our “hipster Prince Harry,” while down-to-earth girl-next-door Betty is straight up heart eyes for him. But by the end of the episode it’s clear that the love triangle will be far, far less important to the series than the fabulous friendship blossoming between B+V. Which makes total sense, because these girls are badass.

At first glance, Lili Reinhart is all sweetness and light as Betty Cooper. But while her Betty is smart, hard-working, compassionate, and protective of the people she loves – essentially good without being boring – she is also a teenaged girl with a seriously messed up home life who just wants to be loved and accepted. She is possessed of an inner rage that is mostly self-directed but in the third episode results in the magnificent if terrifying takedown of a misogynistic jock. She also worries that she might be crazy – after all, everyone else in her family seems to be. But that doesn’t stop her from kicking ass and taking names when she and Jughead get their amateur sleuth on. (There is a moment in episode 6 when she tightens her ponytail to fortify herself, and it is so perfect I’m still thinking about it days later.) She is curious and resourceful (girl owns a slim jim and can bobby-pin pick a lock like Nancy Drew). And she’s learning to stand up for herself. She loves and supports Archie and is there to play therapist whenever he needs, but she knows when to shut down his shenanigans. She also knows that attempting to preserve evidence crucial to the show’s central murder mystery is just a bit more important than seeing Archie’s first public performance (much as she might regret missing it). In short, she’s awesome.

So is Camilla Mendes’s Veronica. Introduced in slow motion, wearing a cape and her signature pearls, she looks every inch the part, right down to the pout. Riverdale’s resident feminist, Ronnie isn’t here for your sexism or slut shaming or mean girl frenemy bullshit. She is sassy (in the pilot alone she refers to Archie as “red-headed Ansel Elgort,” “teen Outlander,” and “ginger stallion”). She is fierce – and fiercely loyal, refusing to turn her back on her father even though his illegal activities basically blew up her life. She loves drama and hates secrets. And she isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. After Archie rejects Betty, Veronica, though sympathetic, doesn’t sugar coat it: “Most of the time, the people we like don't like us back.” Though confident, fearless, and wise beyond her years, she too is still just a teenaged girl who occasionally acts out. As the victim of cyber bullying and slut shaming she doesn’t hesitate to stand up for herself, but in the face of her mother’s potential infidelity she melts down. But my favourite thing about Veronica is that she values female friendship above all else. When an ill-advised kiss in the pilot threatens to derail her relationship with Betty before it even really begins, she is gutted. She knows that while boys will come and go, she and Betty were destined to be friends.

And leave it to a town like Riverdale to be populated by an endless assortment of interesting characters.

• While Jughead is perhaps the character who most differs from the ones I remember from the comics (circa the 90s, just to be clear), Cole Sprouse is really great in the role. The “outsider” who relates to the world through sardonic humour (his words), he is the show’s moral centre (as well as its narrator… but maybe let’s just gloss right over that – for all the things Riverdale does brilliantly, the narration isn’t one of them). Clever, sweet, and passionate, he is a true-blue friend.

• Mädchen Amick, who, depending on your age, you might remember from Twin Peaks, Gilmore Girls, or Witches of East End (she also had a small role in Dawson’s Creek that soured me against her until recently – sorry, Mädchen!), is deliciously awful as Betty’s controlling mother. She has never gotten over the fact that she was unpopular in high school and she takes it out on pretty much everyone. Highlights of her performance so far include the way she says Jughead’s name – like she seriously cannot believe she is being forced to use such a stupid word – and the scene where she cleanses Betty’s room after a visit from Cheryl Blossom, sister to Jason, the murdered boy who supposedly destroyed Betty’s sister’s life.

• Speaking of Cheryl, Madelaine Petsch absolutely kills it as the queen bee of Riverdale High. There are so many fabulous layers to Cheryl’s crazy – from her borderline (or maybe not so borderline) incestuous relationship with her deceased twin brother to the Gothic horror show that is her house/home life. Uber-confident on the outside, deeply insecure on the inside, she relishes any opportunity to shock or create chaos. And don’t even get me started on my Cheryl Blossom hair envy.

• Luke Perry as Archie’s dad, Fred Andrews, is a weekly highlight for me – and for any woman who once had a crush on Dylan McKay. Seeing 90210’s resident “bad boy” as the responsible parent who worries about his son being alone in his room with a girl is just the greatest thing ever. Plus, I have a thing about TV dads, especially ones as sweet and supportive as Fred. He may not fully understand his son’s sudden interest in music, but that doesn’t stop him from soundproofing the garage or watching, teary-eyed, as Archie performs at Riverdale High’s annual talent show.

Basically what I’m saying is all of the performances/characters are just great. And I haven’t even mentioned Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, or Ashleigh Murray and Hayley Law as Josie and Valerie, respectively (poor Melody hasn’t had much to do yet except play the drums whenever the Pussycats perform). The guest casting is equally on point: Skeet Ulrich pops up for the first time in episode 4, providing some additional 90s-flashback awesomeness, and I can’t wait for Brat Pack darling Molly Ringwald’s appearance as Archie’s mom!

I also love the style of the show. The direction is fantastic, with little flourishes here and there that really make it stand out. (I mentioned Veronica’s slo-mo introduction, but see also Cheryl’s entrance into her brother’s wake – killer). The visual palette is also stunning. It’s perpetually foggy and blue-hued in Riverdale, and after dark the entire town appears bathed in the neon glow of a seedy motel sign. Noir vibes abound. But it’s the little touches that really sell it: from wardrobe choices like Veronica’s ever-present pearls and Cheryl’s cherry accessories (girl plays up her ginger roots like a boss) to the locations that make Riverdale feel both lived in and exaggerated in the best way (see the rundown drive-in, Pop’s Chock'lit Shoppe, and the Blossoms’ clearly haunted mansion). The pop culture references are also fantastic, touching on everything from the works of Truman Capote to Mad Men to James Franco and Beyoncé. Do 16-year-olds these days really watch Woody Allen movies? Who cares! Veronica refers to herself as “the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High” in the pilot and it is perfect. I also really enjoyed Juggie’s recent off-hand mention of "The Yellow Wallpaper." These kids clearly love their AP English class.

And if all of the above isn’t enough to sell you on Riverdale, maybe this adorable little exchange between Kevin, the apparently only out gay teen in town, and his small-town sheriff father will get you on board:

Kevin Keller: Can I borrow the truck for the drive-in?

Sheriff Keller: You got a date?

Kevin Keller: No, I'm going with Veronica.

Sheriff Keller: Ah, okay. Isn’t there a nice gay kid at your school?

Kevin Keller: Yes, there is. Me.

Sheriff Keller: All right. No cruising guys tonight. We both know what goes in those woods.

Kevin Keller: Oh my god, Dad!

This perfectly exemplifies what I think has caught so many people about this show: beneath the murder mystery, beneath the over-the-top drama and Lynchian vibes (also, check out the episode titles for hints to the show’s other first-rate influences), Riverdale is at its core a coming-of-age story about teens in a small town trying to figure out who they are and who they can be. They may be CW sexy, but underneath they still feel real.

#television #teen #soap #drama #mystery #CW #Archie