At The CW’s Upfront 2022 Red Carpet, I had the chance to chat with KJ Apa about Riverdale! After receiving an early renewal for the 2022-23 season, it was announced that season 7 will also serve as the show’s last. New episodes of season six currently air on Sundays.
We discussed his hopes for the final season, all of the insane things Archie has been through, which character he wants to come back before the show ends, and Archie’s relationships.
To start, KJ Apa opened up to The Nerds of Color about his hopes for the show’s final season. “Some closure for Archie would be good in different areas of his life. It’d be nice to see him find some peace,” he explained to me. “It’s going to be interesting to see how the writers — they’re very creative — the way that they are going to end the show, if it’s going to be something catastrophic or if it’s gonna be something peaceful.”
As for Archie in particular, the actor stated, “He wants to have a family. He wants to live in peace, in his hometown. He’s very simple. He doesn’t want money, he doesn’t want material things. He just wants a family, wife, and a house to live in — in his town.”
Riverdale has definitely used season six to lean more into supernatural elements, but Archie has had some insane storylines throughout the series. From bear attacks to superpowers, Apa has portrayed it all: “A lot of shit’s gone down, and that’s part of the reason why it’s gonna be difficult to say goodbye to the character and to the show.”
He continued to express, “To be on a show where you can be attacked by a bear in one scene — I mean, there’s going to be no experience like this in my life again and I know that everyone else knows that. So it’s been hard to imagine the unknown after the show ends and what my life will look like. It’ll be sad, but I think exciting at the same time.”
This season, Betty and Archie are also giving their relationship a real chance. “It’s been great,” Apa shared in regards to finally exploring their dynamic. “I’ve been really enjoying it. I think Lili’s great. Who knows what endgame is, but I think Archie especially is enjoying his time with Betty, imagining kids with her, family, and a future. I think at this point, it’s her that’s holding back a little bit for her own reasons that are valid.”
The actor also commented on the recent kiss between Veronica and Archie. “I don’t know what the kiss was all about,” he said. “I thought that they kind of threw me off guard when I read that scene. I was just like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ They just want to keep something going. I don’t think there’s anything to it for Archie. For Veronica, maybe not? You never know with her.”
This season, fans were thrilled to see Archie and Jughead sharing the screen more. Will that continue? “I hope so,” Apa responded. “I’ve been begging Roberto to have more scenes with Jughead. It’s probably because we laugh every scene we’re in and we don’t get anything done, to be honest.”
Lastly, I asked if there were any guest stars or returning characters that KJ would like to see before Riverdale ends. “I want to see Mark Consuelos come back. It would be cool to see Hiram come back. I think the relationship between Archie and Hiram was pretty special, seeing them meet again would be interesting,” he told me.