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| Starring: | |
| Episode List: | List of Riverdale episodes |
| Network: | The CW |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Season Number: | 3 |
The third season of Riverdale premiered on The CW on October 10, 2018 and concluded on May 15, 2019 with a total of 22 episodes. The series is based on the characters from the Archie Comics, created by Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater, and was created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
The principal cast sees KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Marisol Nichols, Madelaine Petsch, Ashleigh Murray, Mädchen Amick, Luke Perry, Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, and Skeet Ulrich returning from the previous season. Charles Melton and Vanessa Morgan were promoted to series regulars after appearing as recurring stars in the previous season.
The season centres around the growing popularity of the game Gryphons and Gargoyles (based on Dungeons and Dragons), and the mysterious Gargoyle King. As well, the season focuses on a cult known as The Farm, who starts indoctrinating residents of Riverdale.
This season is the last one to feature Luke Perry as Fred Andrews, Perry passed away on March 4, 2019[1] almost at the completion of the season. All episodes of the season released after his death were dedicated to his memory.
See also: List of Riverdale episodes.
The show was renewed by The CW for a third season on April 2, 2018.[2] Filming for the season began on July 10, 2018 in Vancouver[3] and ended in late March 2019.
On May 2, 2018, it was announced Vanessa Morgan and Charles Melton were promoted to the main cast[4] On July 22, 2018 Penelope Ann Miller joined the cast as Mrs. Wright.[5] On August 10, 2018, it was announced Michael Consuelos, son of Mark Consuelos, joined the cast playing a young version of his father's character Hiram Lodge on the fourth episode of the season titled "Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Midnight Club", which is an homage to the cult-classic film The Breakfast Club.[6] Anthony Michael Hall (one of the Breakfast Club stars) joined the cast on August 21, 2018 playing Mr. Featherhead also during the fourth episode.[7] On September 29, 2018, it was announced Riley Keough joining the season as a guest star.[8] Gina Gershon and Trinity Likins joined the cast on October 7, 2018 playing Jughead's mother and sister, respectively.[9]
On February 2019, Chad Michael Murray was cast as the recurring role of Edgar Evernever, the cult leader of The Farm and Evelyn's father.[10]
On February 27, 2019, Luke Perry (Fred Andrews on the show) suffered a massive ischemic stroke at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. After a second stroke, his family decided to remove him from life support and he died on March 4, at age 52 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The day of Perry's death, Riverdale's production was suspended and remained so for several days in order to give the cast and crew time to grieve Perry's passing.[11] Also due to Perry's death, the season went on a 3-week hiatus from March 27 to April 17, 2019 with the final 5 episodes of the season premiering 2 weeks later from their respective original air dates.[12] All of the episodes of the season starting from episode 14, "Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk with Me" were dedicated to Perry's memory, and his final physical appearance on the show was on episode 19, "Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper".
The first trailer of the season was screened at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2018.[13] The season premiered on October 10, 2018 and ended on May 15, 2019. The complete season was available on Netflix in the United States on May 23, 2019[14] and in Latin America became available on October 9, 2019.[15] The complete season was released on DVD & Blu-ray by Warner Archives on August 13, 2019.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the third season holds an approval rating of 84% based on 6 reviews, and an average rating of 7.69/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Suspend your disbelief and hold on to your beanie: Season 3 of Riverdale is off the rails, and delightfully so."[16]