Riverdale Season 3: 9 Things We Learned During San Diego Comic-Con
The hit CW series Riverdale got the Hall H treatment at San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday, July 22.
Fans packed into the massive room to watch exclusive, brand-new footage from Season 3 (which recently began filming) and to listen to the cast, showrunner, and executive producers dish on what’s to come in the teen drama.
The Q&A panel was moderated by Kelly Ripa and featured Luke Perry (Fred Andrews), Marisol Nichols (Hermione Lodge), Mark Consuelos (Hiram Lodge), Vanessa Morgan (Toni Topaz), Madelaine Petsch (Cheryl Blossom), KJ Apa (Archie Andrews), Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge), Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper), Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones), Casey Cott (Kevin Keller), Ashleigh Murray (Josie McCoy), Mädchen Amick (Alice Cooper), Skeet Ulrich (F.P. Jones), showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and executive producers Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater.
Having attended many panels during San Diego Comic-Con, I can say without hesitation that the Riverdale gang dished and teased the most about their upcoming season.
Here are a few of the most important things we learned about Season 3, which picks up three months after the explosive Riverdale Season 2 Finale.
1. The Farm is coming
The Riverdale Season 2 Finale had a lot going on, but one aspect captivated audiences more than most: Polly talking to Alice about the ultra-creepy “Farm.” The panel confirmed that the cult, which has been teased since Season 1, will finally play a larger role in Season 3.
Amick teased that the Farm is headed by a “really handsome cult leader” who will be interacting with Alice. Alice, of course, was left broken and vulnerable following the Season 2 discovery that her husband, Hal, was the notorious Black Hood serial killer.
While Alice and Polly go all in on the Farm, Betty is left in a strange place with her mom and older sister.
“Alice and Polly kind of attack [Betty], and their new weird spirituality with the Farm makes them tell her that she needs to listen to her soul and really confront her problems. So Betty wants to stay far, far away from them,” Reinhart said.
2. Bughead is in a good place
But it’s not all creepy cult-y weirdness for Betty.
According to Reinhart, Betty — who spent her summer post-Season 2 doing an internship — and Jughead are “rock solid” at the start of the new season. They’ll be diving headfirst into the season’s new mystery and will be acting “as the investigative duo that they were in Season 1.”
As for Jughead’s end of Season 2 “proposal,” asking Betty to be the “Serpent Queen” to his Serpent King — it seems like she’s all for that. Reinhart said that Betty will be “owning” that Serpent Queen title in Season 3.
3. Varchie is less solid, but Veronica is coming into her own
Season 2 ended with Hiram framing Archie for the murder of Cassidy, the townie that tried to rob the gang and was killed by Hiram’s man. Our red-headed hero was taken away in handcuffs in front of the entire student body, shortly after winning the student council presidential election.
While no one outright said that Veronica and Archie will be breaking up in Season 3, it’s looking like they have a rocky road ahead.
“I think they’re going to run into some problems,” Mendes said. Apa noted that, if Archie does go to prison in Season 3, “the distance and separation […] is going to be tough” on Varchie.
Of course, Ronnie will have plenty to distract herself within the new season. She’ll be taking over ownership of Pop’s and running her new speakeasy underneath it. Mendes said that Veronica will be leaning into her role as an entrepreneur. She’ll also be supporting herself in a way she’s never had to before, since being formally disowned by her criminal dad in the Riverdale Season 2 Finale.
“She needs to make her own money, and so she’s working at Pop’s, just hustling. We’ll show that she’s not a spoiled, rich girl. She’s trying to prove herself to everybody,” Mendes said.
4. Other ships are rising
Cott said that the kiss between Kevin and Moose at the end of Season 2 does, in fact, herald a new beginning for the pair. According to Cott, the two are “going to be a thing” in Season 3, though Moose still has his issues to work out.
Aguirre-Sacasa also revealed that there’s an “unlikely romance” on the horizon for Reggie Mantle, starting around Episode 3. Reggie will be working as a manager at Veronica’s speakeasy. Does that, paired with the tease about trouble in Varchieland, mean that Veronica/Reggie will be a thing in Season 3? Hmmm…
Aguirre-Sacasa also teased that Episode 3 will be an important one for FP and Alice, as it will address their burgeoning relationship and what that means for Betty and Jughead.
5. New characters will come to town
Jughead’s mom and his sister, Jellybean, are finally visiting FP and Jughead!
According to Aguirre-Sacasa, the two will be arriving in town around Episode 8 or 9 of the upcoming season, though he didn’t announce who’d been cast to play the two previously-unseen women of the Jones family.
Aguirre-Sacasa also said that they’re talking to “some really exciting gentlemen” to cast Edgar Evernever, the charismatic leader of the Farm.
6. A flashback episode will show the parents’ stories
Falice/Snake Parents shippers, rejoice: we’ll finally be learning more about the histories and relationships between Riverdale‘s various adult characters.
According to Aguirre-Sacasa, the flashback episode will occur sometime during Season 3. Even better? The actors playing the teens will be portraying the younger versions of their own parents in the flashbacks.
“Season 1 we wanted to do that [flashback] episode,” Aguirre-Sacasa revealed. “We wanted to have the kids playing the grownups in flashbacks. We haven’t had the chance to do that, but I think we’re going to do that pretty early in Season 3.”
7. Cheryl’s going to be on a bit of a power trip
After an extremely tumultuous — and often downright traumatic — journey throughout the first two seasons of Riverdale, Cheryl is finally coming into her own in Season 3. Having reached a place where she could come out, Petsch said that Cheryl is finally “living her truth,” which is “why she changed so much” as a character.
Unfortunately, not all of those changes might be so great.
“Cheryl’s in a place right now where she’s on a power high,” Petsch said. “She’s got a girlfriend for the first time, she’s emancipated from her mother, she’s still a head cheerleader, and so I think she’s gonna start making power grabs left, right, and center, which I think maybe won’t go so great.”
8. There will be another musical episode
If you couldn’t get the songs from Carrie: The Musical out of your noggin, you’re in luck: Aguirre-Sacasa said that there will “definitely” be another musical episode at some point.
9. The teens will deal with “high school stuff”
With all the murders, mysteries, and gang warfare throughout the first two seasons, the kids didn’t have much time for actual academics. But that’s all going to change in Season 3.
“One of the things we talked about in the writers’ room when we started is how important junior year is,” Aguirre-Sacasa said. “We’re going to try to infuse this season with lots of high school stuff. Still with all the crime and drama and mystery, but we’re gonna talk about the SATs, applying to colleges, advisors, clubs, all that stuff.”
And FYI: When asked which character would have the highest SAT score, Mendes immediately said it would be Veronica.
Other Tidbits:
- Kevin and Josie will be roommates, as their parents take their relationship public and to the next level by moving in together. The two will also sing a duet together.
- Despite Jughead assuming leadership, there won’t be much in the way of peace between the Serpents and the Ghoulies.
- Hermione, now the mayor of Riverdale, will use her newfound power to change the dynamics of her marriage and to rekindle her rocky relationship with her daughter.
- Hiram will continue to be a thorn in Veronica’s side.
- The “Hot Dads of Riverdale” will be reuniting, as Fred is going to ask FP and Sheriff Keller for help with something.
- There might be a rivalry brewing between Toni and Josie, but it’s unclear exactly what that’ll be about — everyone on the panel started shushing one another when it was brought up, and Morgan herself didn’t seem to know what they were talking about when it was mentioned.
Riverdale returns for Season 3 on Wednesday, October 10 at 8/7c on The CW.
Check out all of our coverage of San Diego Comic-Con here. There is a lot more to come!
Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Caralynn Lippo
Caralynn is a freelance writer and editor, but most importantly, she is a diehard TV addict. A few of her current favorites are Mr. Robot, You're the Worst, iZombie, and The Vampire Diaries. She also writes about TV for Romper, The TV Junkies, and TV Fanatic.