This March marks the beginning of the end of an era for one of the wildest shows on television. The CW announced that Riverdale's seventh and final season will premiere Wednesday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET. Its series finale is scheduled to air on August 23 and will be paired with the series finale for Nancy Drew.
Riverdale first began its run in 2017 and followed its core crew as high schoolers as they set out to solve a murder. Since then, the show has gained a reputation of airing increasingly ridiculous storylines that have kept it going for seven seasons. The most recent sixth season saw the characters take on an especially notorious baddie, Percival Pickens (Chris O'Shea), whose aim was to destroy the town for personal gain. As the season wrapped up, Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) used her new and improved powers to stop a comet Percival had sent hurtling towards Riverdale. While she succeeded, it thrust the town back into the 1950s, where only Jughead (Cole Sprouse) remembers what happened.
Season 7 will, of course, see everyone trapped in the 1950s and blissfully unaware of why they're in that time. However, Jughead will attempt to return the town back to present day. To do so, he will enlist the help of his girlfriend Tabitha Tate (Erinn Westbrook). Creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has ensured that it will be "totally surprising" and "completely inevitable." He also shared that Jughead will learn why he's the only one who remembers in the premiere episode, which is titled "Don't Worry, Darling." The season will also focus more on the characters finding their way rather than centering the upcoming storyline on a main villain like with seasons past.
About the show's end, president of entertainment at The CW Brad Schwartz said,
"'Riverdale' and 'Nancy Drew' are two beloved CW series with some of the most passionate and dedicated fans in all of television, and these final seasons are true gifts to them. As we prepare to say farewell to these iconic characters, there are still plenty of surprises and shocking twists packed into both series as they conclude at the top of their game."
Riverdale also stars Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Casey Cott, KJ Apa, Vanessa Morgan, Charles Melton, Mädchen Amick, Drew Ray Tanner, and more. The premiere episode was written by Aguirre-Sacasa and Iman Danielle, and directed by Ronald Paul Richard.
Riverdale's final season begins its run on Wednesday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW, streaming next day on The CW app and website. Watch our interview with Petsch below: