KJ Apa Talks ‘Riverdale’ Season 6 at PaleyFest [Interview]

KJ Apa has a lot to be excited about. 

Riverdale is a show that dares to go where no other show has gone before, and Riverdale Season 6 is doing things differently this time around. 

We caught up with Apa during PaleyFest ahead of the Riverdale panel to talk about the current season of the series. (You can watch the full video below.) 

“The most exciting thing about this season is our villain. He comes to town, and he is shaking everything up in a way we haven’t seen before. It’s different to Hiram, different to the Black Hood. He’s true evil,” Apa said.

Apa credited the success of that shake-up to Chris O’Shea, the actor behind Percival Pickins, this season’s Big Bad. 

“He’s played by Chris O’Shea, who’s a great actor. He’s playing it so well, and I’m having the most fun with him on set.”

But it isn’t just the new bad guy in town that makes Season 6 different from the rest. Riverdale officially introduced supernatural elements during the show’s season premiere, following the Rivervale 5 episode special event.

It’s a narrative twist that directly affects Archie Andrews, but K.J. Apa knows the show well enough not to be too surprised about playing a superhero. 

“I was shocked, but unsurprised. We’ve done so much at this point, material-wise, it’s only a matter of time before something like this comes up, but the goal is to keep it grounded, so it’s at least somewhat believable.”

Apa is right — the show has done just about everything. So I asked him what he would like to see for Archie, before the show inevitably comes to an end. For him, it’s all about working with his pals. 

“Whatever it is, make it with Cole and Charles, because I never get to work with those guys, and we love working together. I feel like every time we do, we can never get through it because we’re always laughing.”

After thinking on that for a beat, he realized:

“That’s probably why we never work together.”

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Riverdale airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW. 

*Additional reporting by Ashley Bissette Sumerel 

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