In the current landscape of television and film, it seems that gritty reboots continue to be a trend. Between the thousands of dark superhero films and the barrage of edgy remakes, it seems like these adaptations are here to stay.
That is the case for the CW’s Riverdale, adapting those old Archie comics for a more modern setting. Fans might be curious to know how a show based off of a one-hit wonder band called The Archies back in 1968 would turn out. One could wonder what took Hollywood so long to greenlight this idea.
Season one is about the investigation of Cheryl Blossom’s brother’s death, which lasts the entire first season. Season two attempts to be darker by introducing a masked killer known as “The Black Hood,” who attempted to kill of a secondary character.
Fans might be more interested in the representation of their favorite characters. There’s Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) who is like a typical jock but with feelings.The most grounded character, at least in the first season, was Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), who serves as the narrator of the series.
Yet, how he is portrayed in the show is the exact opposite as he is in his source material. In the comic, he’s a friendly and humorous character but with the tone of the TV series, Jughead now has a gruff personality. Then there is Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), who is portrayed as the spoiled rich girl, but over the course of the season becomes less irritating.
The show checks off the stock character clichés of any teen drama. Unfortunately, the acting varies between decent to downright cringeworthy.
Riverdale seems like the guiltiest of pleasures. Its cheesy, overdramatic take on the most harmless comic series in the world is something that may take a while to adjust to. For others, it is their next and best binge-worthy series.
Regardless of which side of the fence viewers find themselves on, Riverdale is an engrossing show that reaches the melodramatic heights of other CW shows like Arrow or Jane the Virgin.
