‘Riverdale’ Cast: Then and Now

Riverdale is gearing up for its seventh and final season on The CW — but fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted.

In 2017, viewers were introduced to a group of friends who came together to uncover the dark secrets that exist within their town. Based on the iconic Archie Comics, Riverdale shocked fans with several unexpected twists and turns over the years.

After the show was renewed for its final season, KJ Apa said he wasn’t sure how he would approach Riverdale‘s last chapter. “I try not to think about it, because the more I think about it, the more real it becomes,” he told TV Line in May 2022, shortly after the show was picked up for season 7. “I think a lot of us saw it coming, season 7 most probably being the final season. So it didn’t come as too much of a surprise to me.”

Apa joked that there was one aspect of playing Archie Andrews that he wouldn’t mind leaving behind, adding, “I can’t say I’d miss dying my hair every week. I’m looking forward to being myself again, but I promise you guys, this last season, we are going to end it with a bang, and we can’t wait to share it with you.”

While filming new episodes, Lili Reinhart clapped back at trolls who celebrated that the hit series was coming to an end.

“A–holes saying ‘can’t wait for this show to end,’ like, babe, why does the show have such an impact on your life that you feel the need to make a public comment about it?” she wrote via Instagram Stories in March 2023. “Run along now.”

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Scroll down to see then and now photos of the Riverdale cast members: