Fox Developing Archie Comics TV Series ‘Riverdale’
Following the successes ofArrow,The Flash,Gotham, andAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D., yet another comic book series is being turned into a TV show. Only this one’s not based on Marvel, DC, or indeed any superhero franchise at all.
Fox is developingRiverdale, a new drama based on characters from the Archie comics.Greg Berlanti(ofArrow,The Flash, and the upcomingSupergirl) is producing andRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa(the chief creative officer of Archie Comics) is writing. More on the Archie Comics TV series after the jump.
Deadlinefurther describesRiverdaleas “a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surreality of small-town life — the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome façade.”
That description makes Archie sound like aBlue Velvet-style expose of American suburbia. But recent Archie storylines, including ones written by Aguirre-Sacasa, have seen the gang battling zombies and whatnot. So maybe the “darkness and weirdness” refers to supernatural forces, a laBuffy the Vampire Slayer.
Or maybe we’re reading too much into that description and it’s just gonna beDawson’s Creekwith more familiar character names. After all, Berlanti did begin his career as a writer on that series. His more recent hits includeArrowandThe Flash, both on The CW, and NBC’s freshman dramaMysteries of Laura.
Aguirre-Sacasa is a longtime Archie fan, to the extent that in 2003 he even wrotean unlicensed playreimagining Archie characters as grown-ups. He’s written forGlee,Looking, andBig Loveon the small screen, and he penned remakes ofCarrieandThe Town That Dreaded Sundownfor the big screen.
Archie made his debut in 1941 and has remained popular over the decades. The comics have inspired several animated series including, most recently,Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witchon the Hub Network. However,Riverdalewill be the first live-action Archie Comics-based show since ABC’sSabrina, the Teenage Witchended in 2003.
