Riverdale is full of twists and turns, but one twist creators could not have anticipated was the real-life death of one of its main stars.
Luke Perry played Fred Andrews throughout The CW series’ three seasons.
On the 27th of February, the 52-year-old actor suffered a stroke while at his home in Los Angeles. He was rushed to hospital and suffered a second stroke, leading to his death on March 4th.
Luke’s passing came in the middle of Riverdale’s third season, with producers addressing his sudden absence by saying that Fred was away on business.
The devastating loss will be addressed in the forthcoming fourth season.
“When Luke passed, it was such a shock, and it was devastating and we kind of have to deal with the emotion of that, and then you have to figure out everything that comes next,” showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told E! Online.
“And we’d already pretty much plotted out the rest of the season. We’d written a bunch of the rest of the season, and it felt like rather than try to squeeze something — and for me, something that’s so monumental and so defining… and we didn’t know how we wanted to deal with it. You know, you’re just reacting. So we thought rather than do it quickly or do it wrong, let’s take our time, let’s figure it out, and let’s deal with it at the beginning of season four.”
Riverdale will return to The CW in the fall.
