When Archie Comics CCO Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa first told me the pitch for Riverdale back in 2015, I had no way of knowing the pulpy take on small town Americana would become a sensation. The series got early renewal after the show outperformed expectations. Dubbed Dawson’s Creek-meets-Twin Peaks, the show combined a wholesome facade with scandal and treachery boiling just underneath.
Now it looks like the sophomore season will double-down on the wicked secrets hiding behind all those perfect picket fences. The latest Riverdale trailer focuses on Archie’s fear in the wake of the season finale. Worried the masked gunman will return to finish the job, the younger Andrews is arming himself with both melee weapons (like the baseball bat) and a handgun. But Archie isn’t the only one taking up arms. “This is a war,” the voiceover states. While none of the other cast are wielding weapons, the sense one takes away from the trailer is that of barely controlled chaos and paranoia dovetailing with teenage hormones and sexuality. And all of its photographed with more than a few nods to film noir.
And this trailer doesn’t even include the creepy way Cheryl is treating her injured bedridden mother. Oh yes, Riverdale is definitely back with another year delectable dark, neon-lit tales from a small town with big secrets.
Riverdale returns to The CW on October 11 at 8/7c.
