RIVERDALE: not as you know it!

From comic-strip to screen, Riverdale weaves a magic and charming spell of intrigue.

Archie Andrews, The quintessential all-American boy of yesteryear. Good-looking, kind-hearted, charming, lovable, loyal, polite, athletic, smart, in touch with his emotional side and perhaps just a tiny bit mischievous … all traits that make a teenage boy the perfect specimen.

As one of the characters in Riverdale said, “Archie got hot in the summer!”

Which is why the re-imagined, re-plotted and cleverly-modified version of TV’s Riverdale is such an intriguing watch, even to a hardcore loyal Archie comic book fan.

The first thing that struck me about Riverdale, and drew me in was the excellent cinematography and the overall production value of the seemingly sleepy town of er, Riverdale.

Then almost all the characters from the comic book are in the show, although each one isn’t exactly like how they are portrayed in the books.

For example, Geraldine Grundy (Sarah Habel) is a young, super sexy woman who teaches music, while Waldo Weatherbee (Peter Bryant), is an average-built black man.

Narrated by Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Riverdale begins with the death of Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines), twin brother of Riverdale High’s Queen Bee, Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch). Actually, in the first episode, Jason was only thought to have “died” in the river from drowning. Later, he was found washed ashore by Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) and Moose Mason (Cody Kearsley), who were in the woods for a … romp.

At the same time, Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols) and her daughter Veronica (Camila Mendes) are forced to leave their glitzy lifestyle in upscale New York after Hiram Lodge gets imprisoned for money laundering. The mother-daughter duo return to their old mansion in Riverdale, where Hermione has no choice but to get a job at the kitschy retro diner Pop’s to survive.

And then it is very interesting to note, though, that even with “no money”, the Lodge ladies still have Smithers (Tom McBeath) the butler.

To shake things up even more, every episode also deals with issues and drama involving the teenagers and their parents that may or may not have anything to do with the murder. We have seen a slut-shaming incident, cyber-bullying, the gentrification of Riverdale, a gun-toting wannabe-survivalist-nerd and the introduction of the town’s “bad guys”, one of whom is related to Jughead (spoiler; Dad!)

Oh, and in this show, Jughead and Archie are no longer best pals. Instead, it is Archie and Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) who are best friends, while Veronica is not even on the redhead’s romantic radar.

Then we have, er, Shannon Purser rock up in Riverdale. You may remember when she made her acting debut in the Netflix original series Stranger Things portraying the character Barbara “Barb” Holland and portrays Ethel Muggs in Riverdale. The girl done good, and Culturedemandsgeeks looks forward to following her career.

The other thing I like about the show is the featured music. Josie And The Pussycats is the town’s best band, made up of the mayor’s daughter Josie (Ashleigh Murray) who is a bit of a b**** at first, Valerie (Hayley Law) and Melody (Asha Bromfield). The trio did an awesome updated take on Sugar, Sugar, the theme track to The Archie Show cartoon from the 1960s. The song was “originally” performed by The Archies band, but that’s probably never going to happen in Riverdale (thankfully).

Following in the footsteps of shows like Gossip Girl, The O.C. and Beverley Hills 90210 is not something to be taken lightly. Teen dramas often define generations and create fan-bases to rival (but never beat) Game of Thrones.

So when new-kid-on-the-block, Riverdale, hit NZ’s Netflix I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about.

To Culturedemandsgeeks surprise there were many reasons to fuss over this new series.

1. Our Kiwi Connection: KJ Apa

Kiwi actor KJ Apa plays the lead character Archie Andrews in Riverdale.

Culturedemandsgeeks would have never guessed the series lead KJ Apa was in fact a Kiwi! And Apa, who plays (Archie Andrews), has taken to Hollywood like a duck to water.

2. A Sign of Things to Come: The Pilot

Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) and Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) in The CW’s Riverdale.

Often a pilot episode of a series can be one of the weakest of the lot, however we was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the first episode. Within the space of one episode, Riverdale had reeled me in with its riveting twists and turns.The death of minor character, Jason Blossom, has enough oomph to keep any murder-mystery lover hanging on.

3. A Disney Throwback: Cole Sprouse

If you haven’t heard of Cole Sprouse, you might remember him for his role on The Suite Life of Zac and Cody. The actor has shed any Disney star image he had left and reworked himself into a serious actor with darker hair. Sprouse plays Jughead Jones, who becomes the mysterious and brooding narrator hiding behind a laptop.

4. From Comics to the CW: A Modern Twist

Riverdale characters Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper in comic book form. The show is based on the Archie comics that were created back in 1941, and it loosely honours its origins. The TV characters all have a similar appearance and personality as their comic counterparts.

No need to fret if you thought it would be set in the dark ages when iPhones didn’t exist, there are plenty of nods to present day modern technology.

5. On Point: The Fashion of Riverdale

For many teen dramas, what the characters wear is just as important as what they say The trend-setting ways of Marissa Cooper and Blair Waldorf transcended the screens into the real world. Riverdale throws back to cheerleading uniforms and letterman jackets but isn’t afraid to keep it modern with cat-ear headbands and chokers.

ENDSCOPE: ‘Riverdale’ gathers the best of The CW with its teen-oriented soap and lovable mysterious characters. It still has to grow as a show though, but this is the best young adult cast for any drama in years, and you’ll even be able to overlook Apa’s horrible dye job.

Riverdale the TV series is probably what the comic book would be like if it were created today and not in the 1940s.

By the way, Robin Givens plays the town’s mayor, while Luke Perry – once upon a time famous for playing TV’s hottest teen bad boy Dylan McKay – is now Fred Andrews, Archie’s balding, divorced dad. Look out for a grim-faced, puffy Skeet Ulrich, too, a handsome actor who everyone thought was going to be a big deal 15 years ago.

A new episode of Riverdale is released every Friday on Netflix.