The cast of Riverdale admit that their show is often laughed at, but they accept the absurdity and narrow-mindedness. They consider the goofiness of their show to be part of its appeal and compare it to superhero movies and other fictional stories. The cast acknowledges that the series has a cult following outside of North America, especially in England and France, where it is appreciated for its unique sense of humor and fascination with classic America.
The cast of ‘Riverdale’ reflects on jokes about the CW show’s absurd plots. The teen drama quickly took over as a teen drama, unlike most of its contemporaries. While it’s true that Riverdale has had its fair share of breakups, love triangles, and teenage angst, it also dabbles in homage to horror, time travel, obsession, and witchcraft in general. The reactions to these absurd plot twists have at times generated ridicule online, whether it’s sweet and supportive or more seriously questioning the quality of the script.
In an interview with Vulture ahead of the Riverdale series finale on August 23, the show’s cast reflect on The CW show and its absurdist banner. As part of an interview filmed ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty, Camila Mendez, who plays Veronica, Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead, and Casey Cott (Kevin Keller) offer their different perspectives on the tone of the series, the vision of showrunner Roberto Aguirre -Sakasa and various reactions to it. Here are their quotes:
Reinhart: I think it’s important to acknowledge that our show gets ridiculed a lot. People watch a video taken out of context and say, “What? I thought it was about teenagers.” And we felt the same way – in the first season. But it was not easy to feel like the victim of a joke. We all want to be actors; we are passionate about what we do. So when the absurdity of our show became a topic of conversation, it was hard. It’s “What the hell? That is the point. When we read at the table and something ridiculous happens, Roberto laughs because he understands the absurdity and mannerisms.
Kott: Only works if we dive.
Mendez: Superhero movies are in high demand these days and they are the craziest stories imaginable! You have a damn raccoon fighting aliens in space! Nobody says, “That doesn’t make sense.” We are a cartoon; it’s supposed to be fun, fictional, and weird. If you want to watch a teen show that only has a bunch of kids in high school doing love drama, you’ll find plenty.
Sprouse: Go watch Euphoria.
Mendez: But Roberto didn’t want to do that. I think he wanted something more extravagant.
Sprouse: This is the natural life cycle of a worship program. North America is the only place in the world that loudly objects to the show’s absurdity. England, who has a drier, slightly gruff and sarcastic sense of humor, loves and understands him. We find a huge audience in France that is into classic American.
Mendez: And don’t forget Brazil! All fan accounts of the show. We’ve done so much that every time we get a new script or a new project, it’s like we’ve already done a Riverdale version of it.
Sprouse: Every actor used to debut like this. Remember 21 Jump Street, Johnny Depp. Remember Clooney. These shows were once proof of the existence of such a medium. And now they don’t really exist anymore.
Riverdale’s approach helped him stand out
Riverdale may have come to an end at a time when The CW moved away from its brand of youth-oriented programming, but in recent years the Archie comic book adaptation has become representative of what the network was known for while continuing to reemerge. the teen drama genre and introducing new established young actors and showrunners. It probably wouldn’t have attracted much attention were it not for its twists and turns.
The teen drama itself hasn’t gone away. Netflix, Max and Paramount+ are some of the platforms that have kept the genre alive. But even among them, few shows have managed to garner the attention that Riverdale has. The show’s viral videos aren’t the only measure of the show’s success, as it’s said to be an international success thanks to its deal with Netflix.
The criticism of Riverdale is generally understandable. Over the course of seven seasons, the show’s storytelling faltered and never captured the zeitgeist that it did in the first season. But the show’s instinct to do something different ended up being the show’s salvation, allowing it to reinvent itself and remain part of the conversation.
Source: Vulture