'Riverdale' Actor KJ Apa Assures Fans That They'll End The Show 'With A Bang'

As is the tradition with the CW at its upfront presentations, the company reserved its final marque slot at its recent presentation for one of its signature series that is ending, which is "Riverdale."

The film company announced earlier that the upcoming season seven of "Riverdale" will be the final season of the series. Chairman and CEO of the company Mark Pedowitz spoke about how iconic the series has been before introducing one of the cast members, KJ Apa, to talk briefly.

Apa, who plays the character of Archie in the show, spoke on behalf of the whole cast and thanked fans for their support so far. He assured the show's fans that they would be ending "Riverdale" with a bang. Read on to find out more.

During Apa's short speech, Via Deadline, he said, "I'm sad to be saying goodbye to Riverdale next season, to our sets, to our crew, to our producers, to our CW family but I can speak for everyone, for Cammy, Cole, Lili and the rest of our cast that we are so grateful for everyone's support. To the fans, without the fans, none of this would be possible."

He continued, "I can't say I'd miss dying my hair every week, I'm looking forward to being myself again, but I promise you guys, this last season, we are going to end it with a bang, and we can't wait to share it with you."

As Apa walked off the stage, Pedowitz said, "It certainly has been one hell of a ride." The company has also confirmed that season 7 of the series will premiere midseason and will have a full-size order to end it properly.

"Riverdale" was recently renewed for a seventh season back in March this year alongside several other CW series, including "The Flash," "Walker," "All American," and "Kung Fu." At the time, there was no indication that it would be the final season of the popular comic-book adapted show.

With the announcement, it is now the latest in the line of long-running CW shows that are ending. Although unlike "Riverdale" which got renewed for a final season, the company canceled shows like "Dynasty," which had five seasons, "Legends of Tomorrow," which had seven seasons, and "Legacies," which had four seasons, never giving them the chance to properly end.

Many fans have expressed that they are glad "Riverdale" is finally ending on social media. Some expressed the opinion that the series had "lost its plot" and that the series had veered far off from the plot of the first season and the comic book plot.

When the first season of "Riverdale" premiered, it received solid ratings and quickly became very popular. However, its real fame hit when it became available to stream on Netflix. It has since aired more than 100 episodes and has a solid fan base.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa developed the series, and he based it on the characters from the famous Archie Comics. The show took a spin on the world from the comics and introduced real-life problems like murder, drugs, and cults. Some fans applauded the different spin, while some criticized it for straying from the comics.

The cast includes Apa, Cole Sprouse as Jughead, Lili Reinhart as Betty, Camila Mendes as Veronica, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl, Charles Melton as Reggie, Mädchen Amick as Alice, and Vanessa Morgan as Toni. One notable cast member was Luke Perry, who played Archie's father until his death.

During a primetime scheduling and strategy press conference where he addressed the final season of "Riverdale" and the cancellation of several other series, Pedowitz stated that he would ensure that "Riverdale" went out on a high note that would be memorable for fans.

He said, "We encouraged all of those producers to try to treat their finales as if they could be series finales. We wanted to do the right thing by the series and by the fans. We have not declared how many episodes yet. But I do not believe it will be a shortened season. It goes back to what I said earlier: I am a big believer in attempting to give series that have had long runs an appropriate send-off."

According to the CEO, the Archie Comics team supports ending the series. He said, "We had a long conversation with Roberto yesterday, who's thrilled by this news. And we're going to treat the show in the manner it deserves. It was an iconic pop culture star, and we want to make sure it goes out the right way, and that is the decision. I think they choose that seven years is the right amount, and we want to do the right thing. That's a personal thing. As a fan myself. I do want to do what's right for the show."