In a Vulture oral history on the end of The CW’s “Riverdale,” cast member Lili Reinhart admitted that it’s been difficult to be the butt of so many jokes as the series has often been ridiculed on social media over the years. Reinhart starred as Betty Cooper on all seven seasons of the show, which comes to an end on Aug. 23 after 135 episodes.
“Riverdale” started as a dark take on the Archie Comics universe, but it grew increasingly campy, loopy and flat out insane as the series progressed. Clips from the Season 6 finale went viral for featuring some characters absorbing superpowers and blasting lasers out of their hands. In the show’s final season, the main cast found themselves stuck in the 1950s.
“We can all be happy that we had a fucking consistent job for seven years. I could speak for probably all of us: We will never again do something that’s 100-plus episodes,” Reinhart told Vulture about the show’s run. “I think it’s important to acknowledge that our show is made fun of a lot. People see clips taken out of context and are like, ‘What? I thought this was about teenagers.’ And we thought so as well—in season one. But it’s really not been easy to feel that you’re the butt of a joke.
“We all want to be actors; we’re passionate about what we do,” Reinhart continued. “So when the absurdity of our show became a talking point, it was difficult. It is ‘What the fuck?’ That’s the whole point. When we’re doing our table reads and something ridiculous happens, Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] is laughing because he understands the absurdity and the campiness.”
Camila Mendes, who played Veronica Lodge on the series, added, “Superhero movies are the main thing at the box office these days, and those are the most absurd stories you could imagine! You’ve got a fucking talking raccoon fighting aliens in space! No one’s like, ‘This makes no sense.’ We’re a comic book; it’s supposed to be fun and fictional and weird. If you want to watch a teen show where there’s just a bunch of kids in a high school dealing with relationship drama, there’s a lot out there.”
Jughead Jones actor Cole Sprouse encouraged people to watch HBO’s “Euphoria” if they were looking for a more grounded teen drama.
“Riverdale” airs its series finale Aug. 23 on The CW.