Riverdale and Nancy Drew are gearing up for their final hurrah. 

We’ve known that the end for these CW dramas was near—and now we know exactly when we’ll have to say goodbye and part ways with our favorite TV redheads. 

Riverdale will premiere for its seventh and final season on Wednesday, March 29 at 9/8c. 

The wait for Nancy Drew will be a bit longer as the series will return on Wednesday, May 31 at 8pm taking over The Flash’s time slot. 

Riverdale will have a significantly higher episode count with 20 total episodes to wrap things up, while our time at Horseshoe Bay will be limited to 13 episodes. 

Both teen dramas will come to an epic conclusion when the series finales air on Wednesday, Aug. 23. 

The CW also gave fans official synopses for both shows so fans know exactly what to expect.

Riverdale — “Chapter One Hundred Eighteen: Don’t Worry Darling” — Image Number: RVD701a_0716r — Pictured (L – R): Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller and Nicholas Barasch as Juilian Blossom — Photo: Michael Courtney/The CW — © 2023 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Riverdale

“Picking up where last season ended, Jughead Jones finds himself trapped in the 1950s. He has no idea how he got there, nor how to get back to the present. His friends are no help, as they are living seemingly authentic lives, similar to their classic Archie Comics counterparts, unaware that they’ve ever been anywhere but the 1950’s.”

Archie Andrews is the classic all-American teen, coming of age, getting into trouble, and learning life-lessons; Betty Cooper is the girl next door, starting to question everything about her perfect life — including her controlling mother Alice; Veronica Lodge is a Hollywood starlet who moved to Riverdale under mysterious circumstances; Cheryl Blossom is the Queen Bee with a withering wit and a secret longing; Toni Topaz is an activist fighting for the Black students of recently integrated Riverdale High; Kevin Keller is a ‘square’ crooner wrestling with his sexual identity; Reggie Mantle is a basketball star from farm country; and Fangs Fogarty is a greaser who’s destined to be an Elvis-type star. It isn’t until Jughead is visited by Tabitha Tate — Riverdale’s Guardian Angel — that he learns the cosmic truth about their predicament. Will Jughead and the gang be able to return to the present? Or will our characters be trapped in the 1950’s forever? And, if so…is that such a bad thing?”

Nancy Drew — Image Number: NCD405b_0554r — Pictured (L – R): Alex Saxon as Ace, Kennedy McMann as Nancy Drew, Tunji Kasim as Nick, Maddison Jaizani as Bess and Leah Lewis as George Fan — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW — © 2023 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Nancy Drew

“George’s desire for justice has brought her fighting spirit to the courtroom as an aspiring law school student; Nick, whose broken engagement with George has left him single, is back on the dating scene, and focused on becoming a rising star as a local businessman; Bess is eager to become the town’s guardian of dangerous supernatural secrets, only to encounter a threatening new foe who’s hellbent on leading a witch-hunt to undermine her mission; and Nancy’s star-crossed love Ace must confront the deathly curse keeping him and Nancy from acting on their feelings for each other.”

Nancy Drew‘s final season “begins as Nancy launches a new investigation to find a group of missing bodies from Horseshoe Bay’s cemetery that have been dug up and stolen—or have possibly risen. As Nancy is drawn into this ghostly case, a string of unexplained paranormal crimes leads the Drew Crew to believe that the literal sins of the town’s past have returned to haunt the living. Meanwhile, Nancy struggles with yearning for Ace, the man she loves. But when a slow-burning attraction begins between Nancy and the son of Ryan Hudson’s newest enemy, Nancy must decide whether this love interest is worth the ire of both her father and Ace —whose own heart may also be tempted by a new relationship. Nancy’s exploits this season will bring the Drew Crew numerous standalone cases, stunning twists, humor, and unexpected romances as they are drawn into a season-long mystery unlike any they have had to solve before. When Nancy’s efforts to protect her seaside hometown from the sins of its past backfire, she must do the unthinkable to save her friends from both the supernatural and earthbound threats coming for them—and it could cost her everything, and everyone, she’s ever loved.”

Find out more about Riverdale Season 7 right here!

It’s time to say goodbye to Riverdale. The series that brought to life the Archie Comics—and made Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Jughead Jones household names—is embarking on its seventh and final season in 2023.

Below, we’re breaking down some details along with your most-asked questions about season 7! 

What Will Riverdale Season 7 Be About?

On Riverdale Season 6, Cheryl managed to successfully save everyone from Bailey’s Comet, but the strange events were far from over as everyone woke up in the ’50s. Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica are all teenagers again living in 1955, though Jughead is the only one who remembers what happened.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Instagram also gave us this gem of ’50s Jughead, so do with that what you will. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (@writerras)

“Jughead remembers everything that happened. And I think our characters, whether they’re conscious or not, have an emotional memory of what they’ve been through… It is still in continuity,” Aguirre-Sacasa told Decider. He also acknowledged that many of the storylines from season 6 would be addressed, which hopefully means we won’t be spending all of our time in 1955.

He’s been revealing quite a bit about the final season on Instagram, including that there will be a ’50s-themed dance, the sock hop, in the second episode of the season.

Is There a Teaser for Riverdale Season 7?

Kind of. Aguirre-Sacasa’s Instagram is a vault of Riverdale-goodness, so the unofficial teaser was shared on his page and gives fans a look at the first minute or so of the premiere episode. Pop’s customers are dancing in the year 1955 as we’re introduced to the ’50s versions of our favorite characters. 

Check it out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (@writerras)

Are There Any Riverdale Season 7 Photos?

Yes! Entertainment Weekly previously revealed the first-look photos at the upcoming season, which included the core cast back in the classroom and in their best ’50s looks. Fangs also took the stage, with the show runner telling the outlet, “Fangs is sort of our greaser rocker. He’s a little bit like a Ritchie Valens character in our universe.”

Aguirre-Sacasa also posted a look at Archie, who is a dreamboat in every single decade he exists in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (@writerras)

Will Riverdale Season 7 Be As Weird As Previous Seasons?

In a surprising twist, Aguirre-Sacasa revealed to Entertainment Weekly that it’s “probably, weirdly, our most grounded season.” Madeline Petsch confirmed this, noting it is “pared down with the craziness” while chatting with Variety, adding that it will focus heavily on the core relationships that made season 1 so special. She did warn, however, that “everyone is dating everyone.”

“Thank god the ’50s were as crazy as they were, because it’s been so fun to be in that world,” Aguirre-Sacasa explained, adding, “Every season we explore the tropes of a specific genre, be it supernatural, be it pulp, be it crime. This year our genre is the 1950s, so we’re in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.”

Will There Be New Faces on Riverdale Season 7?

You bet! Aguirre-Sacasa explained that there will some differences between the characters, so the ’50s Veronica may not have the same background as the present-day Veronica. This will likely make it complicated to keep up for fans, especially since season 6 was so all over the place. 

However, it also provides the opportunity to mix in new characters. 

Deadline reported that two new faces were cast for the season as recurring cast members. Nicholas Barasch will play Julian Blossom, a “bully who always gets his way.” He will be Cheryl’s twin brother (yep, not Jason Blossom!), and the “antagonist to all of our teen characters, most especially Archie.” It also seems like Archie and Cheryl might be getting married (or something?) based on this teaser on Instagram. It’s Riverdale… that’s all I have to say.

Karl Walcott, on the other hand, joins as Clay Walker, an Army brat described as  “studious, well-read, and well-traveled.” The outlet notes, “He is very open-minded in his art and his sexuality. As he does in the comic books, Clay will have an impactful friendship with fellow queer character Kevin Keller.”

What Will Riverdale Season 7 Episode 1 Be About?

Aguirre-Sacasa told EW that the first episode is Jughead’s story. “It’s him asking, ‘What do I do with the fact that I’m the only one who remembers our lives before the comet hit?’ And that gets resolved at the end of episode 1. But you get to see Cole playing the Jughead we’ve known, and then you get to see Cole putting on a 1950s persona.”

The show runner also teased “something very, very dark happens at the end of episode 2.”

Will There Be a Villain in Riverdale Season 7?

Riverdale is known for its villains—Hiram Lodge, TBK, Gargoyle King, the list goes on—but Aguirre Sacasa notes there won’t be one villain this season, per se. Instead, the decade seems to be the villain as he notes the character must find “their way in the constricting, dark realities of the 1950s, trying to discover themselves in a really repressive, conformist, homophobic, racist world.”

The biggest struggle is our characters trying to live authentic individualistic lives during a time period where that was really hard to do,” he adds.

When Will Riverdale Season 7 Premiere?

The CW announced that Riverdale’s final season will kickoff on Wednesday, March 29 at 9/8c. It will consist of 20 episodes that will conclude on Wednesday, Aug. 23.

Is There a Riverdale Season 7 Synopsis?

Yes!

“Picking up where last season ended, Jughead Jones finds himself trapped in the 1950s. He has no idea how he got there, nor how to get back to the present. His friends are no help, as they are living seemingly authentic lives, similar to their classic Archie Comics counterparts, unaware that they’ve ever been anywhere but the 1950’s.

As Riverdale wrapped up its final episode of the season, I found myself uttering: “what a trip.” 

Riverdale has always been a unique and wacky show, but season 6 was a whole trip through dimensions and alternate universes, ending in the most unexpected way and in a decade we never thought we’d see our Riverdalians in. 

After a supernatural battle with Percival Pickens, Riverdale’s finest came together in hopes of stopping Bailey’s Comet from crash landing and wiping the murderous town from the map. 

While things looked bleak ahead of the crash, their survival plan came together quite nicely, actually.

Archie’s invulnerability and hero complex have been great assets to Riverdale, but surprisingly, they played a small role in saving the town.

I fact, he was forced to put his heroics aside to let Cheryl and Veronica shine and save the day. 

Cheryl was long overdue for an epic storyline, so bringing her strange upbringing into the mystical world was a smart decision from the creative forces behinid the show. And Veronica, who felt like the outsider most of this season and struggled to find her purpose, realized that the powers she was granted actually lent themselves to stopping the comet. 

Using her kiss of death, she was able to essentially siphon everyone’s powers via a blood pact before transferring them to Cheryl through a pretty steamy kiss. The hope was that Cheryl could drum up enough power to use her pyrokinesis powers to melt the comet (because they are made of ice!). It’s not queerbaiting when it involves saving the world, okay?

The plan wasn’t ideal, but it did make sense of why the Riverdale core cast got powers to begin with. And as an 11th hour Haily Mary, it’s was their best option. 

As Cheryl levitated to the comet — yes, levitated Wanda style — everyone was left hoping for the best but expecting the worst and bracing for impact. 

And then it worked… sort of. 

In a post-comet scene, fans realize that Archie, Betty, and Jughead survived, but saving the world also came at a cost — they were somehow transported back to the 1950s. 

The trio presented in full Archie Comics gear, which, well, is slightly concerning, as is the fact that the only person who remembers life BC “before comet” is Jughead.

When Veronica told Reggie that she wanted to hit a hard reboot on her life, I didn’t think the show would use the explosion and the comet’s destruction as a literal reset of the show to what Jughead refers to as “simpler times.”

In all the scenarios that I played out in my mind (and that Tabitha ran in hers), traveling back in time never made the cut. 

And yet, it’s such a Riverdale decision that I’m also not entirely surprised; I coulnd’t help but let out a chuckle as I imagined these easy-going comic book versions of our favorite characters trying to figure out how to return to their timeline without half of their survival instincts on hand to help.

But mostly, I’m just disappointed because Riverdale was on the cusp of greatness when everyone broke through their walls in the final moments that they had to live. 

Everyone was so honest about what they wanted from the future — it’s the most progress we’ve seen from the characters in a while. It’s almost a shame that this reset essentially undoes all of that. 

Veronica and Reggie established that they were friend-zoning each other as she declared that she would put her absinthe business first and relationships second. Reggie became the owner of the Babylonium. Cheryl and Heather broke up as the latter informed the former that she was a twin flame with Toni. Toni and Fangs got to see their son grow up. Tabitha signed an agreement to expand and franchise Pop’s with Alexandra Cabot. And finally, Betty proposed to Archie (not long after he proposed to her) and they agreed to get married. Betty is heading into the light willingly, which means that the series was finally to let go of the whole Dark Betty/ serial killer obsession. We were trending in such a good direction that it’s truly a shame that we’re going to lose that momentum going into the seventh and final season.

Instead of progressing further into the future, we’re going back and undoing all the progress that was made only to pay some kind of homage to the underlying inspiration for the series.

And it doesn’t just seem like we’re going back in time, it also seems like we’re going back to high school.

Both Archie and Betty, who are still staring at each other through their bedroom windows in a nod that ensures that it’s entirely possible that #Barchie’s romance survived the tumultuous trip (read: it’s written in the stars), are donning high school outfits!

We know Jughead is busy writing the story that we’re seeing pan out on screen, but what are teenage Cheryl, Veronica, Tabitha, and the rest of the characters doing? Since they don’t have memories of the past, they aren’t tethered to their current relationships, so it means that anything goes. Will we reset the ships? And what’s the point of the Barchie engagement if that’s the case? Or will their repressed memories somehow start bleeding through as they did with Riverdale and Rivervale? They may be teenagers again and going through it in high school, but buried somewhere deep down inside, they have these memories from an adult life that will likely come into play at some point and make everything more complicated.

Riverdale — ÒChapter One Hundred and Seventeen: Night of the CometÓ — Image Number: RVD622b_0643r — Pictured (L – R): Erinn Westbrook as Tabitha Tate and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones — Photo: Michael Courtney/The CW — © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

It’s true, Riverdale needed a reset. It needed to cleanse itself from trying to be too much like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, but going back to the ’50s does not seem like the right decision… at least not for long.

 Connecting back to the comics has its sweet moments sometimes, but it mostly made sense in those loopy scenes like when they visited the Sweet Hereafter and Jughead was in full comic-book-burger glory. It doesn’t need to be real life. 

I’m not knocking it just yet, but honestly, I’ve never once woken and been like, you know what I want? More Riverdale high school chronicles. No one needs it. We’ve been there, we’ve done it, and we’ve thrived seeing them become young adults. 

Lastly, we never found out who TBK was, and I’m not resting until we get some clarity on the matter. Like, are we just supposed to stop caring about this very big storyline that impacted Betty in ways she couldn’t imagine and led her to a moment of clarity where she was finally done punishing and blaming herself for all the darkness in her life and instead choosing to be happy? It’s frustrating. 

Anyway, I hope this plot twist doesnt’ take away from some of the really stellar moments of the night:

• Riverdale found its way back to Choni, even if it was through a Thomasina and Abigail sex scene that was almost too hot for The CW to handle. Toni and Cheryl deserve happiness in the final season because they share a cosmic connection. I’ve loved seeing Toni as a mom, but pushing her away from Cheryl and into Fangs’ arms wasn’t a good move in the long run, so it’s time to course correct. 
• Jughead and Tabitha’s jump into the future together was picture perfect. I mean, THE FEELS. Little Jabitha’s running around was cute, but senior Jughead and Tabitha still totally smitten with each other decades later sent me over the edge. I was a whole Bughead fan, but I can’t see myself going back to it. 
• Because I’m also truly obsessed with Barchie’s romance. Archie proposing to Betty was chaotic and coming from a place of fear, but Betty fighting through her commitment issues and making a free-will choice to propose to Archie was chef’s kiss. My only hope is that she doesn’t push aside her dreams for a man because she was always so goal oriented. If she’s not working for the FBI, she better be applying those talents elsewhere.
• Can Baby Anthony become a baby again? It’s weird that we’re still calling him a baby when he’s a grown man, and I want Toni to be able to experience all the joys of motherhood that she’s supposed to! 
• Veronica finally finding the strength in being a single, independent woman was so invigorating. She could’ve clung to Reggie because it was safe, but she didn’t. I do hope that she eventually finds happiness — whatever that may look like for her! 

And to cap off the night, for anyone on Twitter right now wondering why anyone still watches Riverdale, well, this sums it up: 

i fully make a point to keep up with this show just so i can see the reactions in people who i tell what's happening in this show https://t.co/GRrh74XRtT

— Dyl Advised (@ThatsSoDylan) August 1, 2022

What did you think of the Riverdale Season 6 Episode 22 finale? Will you be tuning into Riverdale Season 7 to see how they wrap it all up?