One of the most talked about new shows of the season is Riverdale, mostly due to it how it spins away from its source material. Loosely (I really mean it here) based on the classic Archie comics, the new show envisions Archie and the gang as hot teenagers filled with hormones and drama as they find themselves plunged into a murder mystery plot. That's one hell of a premise, and the show understandably drew plenty of eyes. But did any of them stick around to watch the series premiere this week? The ratings are in and while you can't call Riverdale a smash hit, it wasn't a terrible debut either.
Deadline has the numbers from Thursday night's television lineup and Riverdale had a soft debut. At the 9 p.m. slot on the CW, the hyped show reached a 0.5 in the 18-49 demographic, drawing in 1.37 million viewers. Nothing to brag about by any means, but this doesn't spell doom and gloom for the gritty reimagining just yet. It's possible that the show could pick up steam after word of mouth spreads or that its attention-grabbing premise will keep people coming back to it.
Though the ratings are probably not quite as high as the CW would like (it's down 58% from last years Thursday night debut of Legends of Tomorrow), Riverdale has garnered middling to positive reviews. Some have called it the ultimate CW show, with hot bods and melodrama popping up everywhere you look. The show knows exactly what it is, and it might just need a little bit more time to grow and develop a fanbase. If Hot Archie doesn't do it then there's always the central murder mystery to keep you invested.
Riverdale takes classic comic book characters Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and the rest of the Riverdale High gang and inserts them into a gritty noir inspired reimagining. It's Twin Peaks meets Dawson's Creek with a little Brick thrown in there for good measure. Built around the mysterious murder of a fellow student, Riverdale picks up with Archie estranged from his former best friend Jughead while he recovers from a secret affair with a teacher. Riverdale was written by Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and executive super-produced by Greg Berlanti, who the CW must all but worship these days.
Here's a trailer for next weeks episode of Riverdale, if you still need to be enticed to watch the show.
Riverdale airs new episodes Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on the CW.
