The CW’s new series Riverdale is based on characters from the popular Archie comics and stars K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews. When the cast hit the 2016 San Diego Comic Con they’d only shot the pilot episode, with filming expected to begin on the rest of the first season this September. Series star Apa wasn’t familiar with the Archie comics prior to auditioning for Riverdale, but he’s quickly become a fan. And during interviews at Comic Con, he talked about getting the role and tackling the lead character.
The Plot: As a new school year begins, the town of Riverdale is reeling from the recent, tragic death of high school golden boy Jason Blossom — and nothing feels the same… Archie Andrews (Apa) is still the all-American teen, but the summer’s events made him realize that he wants to pursue a career in music — not follow in his dad’s footsteps—despite the sudden end of his forbidden relationship with Riverdale’s young music teacher, Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel). Which means Archie doesn’t have anyone who will mentor him — certainly not singer Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), who is only focused on her band, the soon-to-be-world-famous Pussycats. It’s all weighing heavily on Archie’s mind — as is his fractured friendship with budding writer and fellow classmate Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse).
Meanwhile, girl-next-door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is anxious to see her crush Archie after being away all summer, but she’s not quite ready to reveal her true feelings to him. And Betty’s nerves – which are hardly soothed by her overbearing mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) aren’t the only thing holding her back. When a new student, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), arrives in town from New York with her mother Hermione (Marisol Nichols), there’s an undeniable spark between her and Archie, even though Veronica doesn’t want to risk her new friendship with Betty by making a play for Archie. And then there’s Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch)… Riverdale’s Queen Bee is happy to stir up trouble amongst Archie, Betty, and Veronica, but Cheryl is keeping secrets of her own. What, exactly, is she hiding about the mysterious death of her twin brother, Jason? Riverdale may look like a quiet, sleepy town, but there are dangers in the shadows…
K.J. Apa Interview:
Did you know much about Archie before being cast?
K.J. Apa: “I didn’t. I wasn’t too familiar with the Archie comics or the whole Archie world before I started on this project, but my dad was. I gave him a call before I went into my audition and he told me. And, I did some research and got updated.”
Have you read any Archie comics since getting the role?
K.J. Apa: “Yeah. I have to read a lot of comics. (Laughing) It’s a tough job. I love the adaptation by Fiona Staples and Mark Waid, the most recent one. I think they did a great job with that.”
What’s your favorite relationship within the series?
K.J. Apa: “I love the dynamic between me and Cole’s character, Cole Sprouse who is playing Jughead. That’s a really unique friendship that we have there. In the first episode we don’t really see them talking too much because something’s happened between them, but I do like that dynamic that we have.”
Do you think it’s possible to portray the relationships between Archie and Veronica and Archie and Betty without coming across as a player?
K.J. Apa: “I think for sure, definitely. That whole love triangle is timeless. It’s something that’s never going to end. He’s always going to choose one probably, and at the end of the season Archie is going to make up his mind. (Laughing) But, it probably won’t last.”
So you have the whole season mapped out from the start?
K.J. Apa: “We actually don’t. We don’t even know…because you know the whole murder mystery that we have going about who killed Jason Blossom and we don’t even know who it is. Our writer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, hasn’t disclosed any of that information.”
Is Archie’s red hair a wig?
K.J. Apa: “No, I dyed my hair for the role. I wish I had a wig. I’ve been dyeing my hair so much since I’ve been filming.”
Tell us about the other woman in Archie’s life, Miss Grundy, played by Sarah Habel. How is that going to play out?
K.J. Apa: “That’s a tough one. I mean, Miss Grundy is so useful for Archie in terms of his music because after the summer Archie discovered his passion for music and the only way that he could progress in that way was by getting lessons and stuff from Miss Grundy. That turned into something that I don’t think anyone was expecting – a little romance there. But, yeah, that’s something that’s going to go on throughout the season.”
If you had to play detective at this point, who do you think is the murderer?
K.J. Apa: “A shot in the dark? If I was to know who the murderer was, if I was to guess, I’d probably go with Cheryl (played by Madelaine Petsch).”
Can you talk about the relationship that Archie has with his father, played by Luke Perry? In the pilot there’s a little tension between the two. Will that carry on throughout the season?
K.J. Apa: “I don’t think so. I just think that was a great platform to start on. And by the way, I love working with Luke Perry. It was amazing. Obviously I knew who he was before so meeting him was great. He’s really great. He’s like the father figure on set for us. But, yeah, I don’t think that same dynamic will carry on throughout the series.”
(Interview by Sandy Kraisirideja. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
