Riverdale just wrapped its 7 season run on Wednesday, August 23^rd. Riverdale had a crazy run. Based on the Archie Comics, Riverdale was a darker iteration. Even from the early episodes, there always seemed to be something different about the town of Riverdale. There was something off and eerie and felt like there was something supernatural. Nearby was the town of Greendale which was the setting of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina which aired on Netflix. It wasn’t until season 6 that Sabria Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) appeared on the show. There were plans to have a crossover with both shows if The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina had gotten a season 5. Riverdale has accomplished a lot over its run. It is one of the last long running shows on the CW after The Flash. The Flash ended in May and lasted 9 seasons. All American will launch its sixth season sometime after the strikes end. All remaining scripted series on the CW have not been on for as long. Riverdale’s final season had 20 episodes. The Flash’s final season had 13 episodes and Nancy Drew which also ended had 13 episodes. Riverdale has gotten to have a full final season. Riverdale ends its run with 137 episodes, which is a rarity these days. Most shows, especially newer ones, don’t make it to 100 episodes. Out of the remaining shows for the CW All American is the only one that will be able to achieve 100 episodes. It will be hitting that mark in its upcoming season.

Spoilers Follow

Riverdale started out as a teen show. It is one of the longer running teen shows out of that genre. Dawson’s Creek lasted 6 seasons while One Tree Hill lasted 9 seasons. The original Beverly Hills 90210 lasted 10 seasons and nearly 300 episodes. All three shows also saw the characters graduate high school. Riverdale had a wild ride. The characters graduated high school in the first part of season 5 due to the pandemic pushing the last 3 episodes out of season 4. After episode 3, Riverdale jumped 7 years later, and the characters were closer to the ages of the actors. In a twist ending at the end season 6, the characters were sent back in time to the 1950s and they were teenagers again. All of season 7 saw the gang back in high school in the 50s. The 50s was also the original setting of the Archie Comics.

Riverdale had an ensemble cast who stayed throughout the run of the series which is also a rarity for long running shows to begin with. One Tree Hill eventually lost two if its leads and The O.C. killed off a major character which also probably contributed to the series ending the following season. Riverdale had some cast changes. The biggest loss was when Luke Perry, who played Fred Andrews, died during season 3. Season 4 killed off Fred and had a tribute episode to the character. Most of the adults left the show after the gang graduated high school but still made guest appearances. Ashleigh Murray, who played Josie McCoy left the show as a series regular in season 3 but made appearances in the later seasons. The rest of the cast stayed throughout.

Riverdale also is the wildest show in a while. It is similar to Melrose Place in terms of how much the show changed over time. Melrose Place started out as a spinoff of Beverly Hills 90210. By the end of its second season, Melrose Place morphed into an over the top soap opera. It was completely different than the show it was a spinoff of. Riverdale started off as a darker show that morphed into crazy and outlandish storylines. By the time of season 6 the show had introduced a multiverse and had given many of the characters superpowers before resetting everything in the season finale and sending the characters back in time to the 1950s where they had to go through high school again. Surprisingly the final season was more grounded compared to the past seasons.

What made Riverdale fun was the fact it was over the top and outlandish. Melrose Place is one of my favorite shows and what I loved about it was how over the top it was. Riverdale is the same thing. Interestingly Riverdale and Melrose Place both lasted 7 seasons. Riverdale was fun even as it got crazier. What helped make the show great was the cast. All of the characters were fun to watch, and it was easy to invest in all of them.

Riverdale ended differently than what I was initially expecting but I did find the series finale satisfying. I am happy with how it ended, and it is one of the stronger series finales. Riverdale adds one more nail in the coffin for the CW as audiences know it. Riverdale will probably be one of the last long running teen shows to make it past 100 episodes. It has accomplished a lot during its run. I will miss Riverdale and I look forward to where the cast winds up next.