Riverdale Cast Takes Los Angeles’ PaleyFest

CW’s leading mystery program took to Los Angeles’ PaleyFest to bare all. 

On the last day of their PaleyFest season, the Paley Center hosted the Riverdale cast and some of its biggest contributors off-screen. The two-hour-long event on Sunday afternoon welcomed KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch, Ashleigh Murray, Luke Perry, Marisol Nichols, Mädchen Amick, Skeet Ulrich, as well as executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Greg Berlanti, and Jon Goldwater.

The program kicked off with an early preview of their musical episode set to air April 18th. After fans watched the cast sing and dance as they put on a high school performance of Carrie, the panel is brought out to discuss fan theories, artistic choices, and its hardships while fans begin to melt before their eyes. However, the fun did not stop there. Here’s what we learned.

Lili Reinhart is not a fan of dark Betty’s Wig. Reinhart talked about the evolution of dark Betty and her love for her, but that didn’t stop her from bashing her signature look. “I think [dark Betty is] incredibly interesting. I feel like it’s so much more than lingerie and a black wig,” she said, as a stern look washed over her face. “I never want to wear that again. I hate that thing.”

Camila Mendes wants to punch someone. She is one of the craziest chicks on the show, and a vicious one at that. However, Camila is no Veronica off-screen. Between her battles with Nick St. Clair and Reggie Mantle this season, Mendes has been entirely peaceful offscreen…until now. “I’ve never punched someone!” Mendes admitted, before hilariously noting, “I’m looking to.”

KJ has a big Apa-tite and a love for improv. During the Q & A session of the program, a fan asked about the milkshakes on set. While Mendes and Reinhart agreed that they are not big fans of them, Apa took the opposite stance.

“I finish mine before we start!” he confessed, causing Dolby Theater to erupt in laughter. Luke Perry confirmed, just like his TV son Archibald Andrews, Apa can eat. ” We had a scene where KJ and Cole [Sprouse] were supposed to be eating the pizza in the living room,” Luke remembered. “They at the whole pizza in rehearsal.”

Then a couple of young fans asked if any of the cast members did improvising on the show and Cole Sprouse responds with a friendly shot at his fellow castmate. “KJ doesn’t remember any of his lines, so the answer is yes,” he laughed.

As for the story behind the wig rooms, the executive producers said that the wig room was written as a joke. Clifford Blossom’s original wig room came to play after actor Barclay Hope was not willing to dye his hair. The Riverdale team agreed to put him in wigs, but after CW executives commented on how horribly unrealistic they all looked, they made gave them a new life.

Riverdale was almost a movie. The hit TV series had first been adapted for the big screen. Aguirre-Sacasa revealed that he and Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater had been working on bringing the story to life for “three or four years” as a movie, but companies weren’t up for it. Not working out there, and on other networks, it would finally land with CW.

Son of the creator of Archie Comics, Goldwater confessed, “I think he’d be shocked. But I also think he’d be thrilled to see this great cast. I don’t think he ever thought in his wildest dreams that would happen. The DNA of comic books and the DNA of the show are the same. He’d really be thrilled about the whole thing.”

The cast loves Karaoke. They all have go-to songs. Casey Cott warms up to “New York” and Reinhart picks “You & I.” “I love Lady Gaga. She’s my girl!” Reinhart gushed, and according to Petsch, “Cole likes to sing Mr. Brightside.”

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.