Why Riverdale Is Ending After Season 7

The CW has recently announced cancellations of its shows — and fan-favorite teen drama Riverdale is revealed to be ending after season 7. Here's why.

Why Riverdale Is Ending After Season 7

The bizarre twists and turns in the town of Riverdale are finally coming to an end after season 7 — and here’s why. Premiering on January 26, 2017, Riverdale took the well-known characters of Archie comics and continued their story in a suburban town filled with mystery and corruption through the most recent Riverdale season 6, which introduced Rivervale. Leading the cast as Archie Andrews is KJ Apa, who is joined by Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, and Cole Sprouse, who play Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Jughead Jones, respectively. Riverdale began its successful run garnering a widespread, loyal fanbase who loved the dark and pulpy twist on the Archie comics. More than five years after its premiere, however, The CW announced that the upcoming Riverdale season 7 will be its last, allowing viewers to still prepare for a truly emotional goodbye.

Riverdale shares a universe with Sabrina Spellman and Katy Keene, thus initially expanding the show’s possibilities. However, it eventually turned into a series filled with increasingly absurd plotlines, ranging from murder, drugs, and crime, to cults, superpowers, and magic. As the show’s story progressed, its viewership dropped consistently. In fact, Riverdale’s season 6 premiere, which introduced Rivervale to the audience, saw an approximately 45% viewership drop from the previous season. Regardless, it remained popular through its presence on the streaming platform Netflix.

With the release of its 2022 fall schedule, The CW announced that Riverdale will end with season 7, following its renewal back in March. Mark Pedowitz, the chairman and CEO of The CW Television Network, shared the news “as a big believer in attempting to give series that have had long runs an appropriate sendoff.” Pedowitz also revealed how he and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the showrunner and chief creative officer of Archie Comics, discussed Riverdale’s ending at length, agreeing that they “will treat the show in the manner it deserves.” At this point, everyone involved in the show, from the executives, the showrunners, to the cast, seem to be in agreement ending it with Riverdale season 7 is the right call. Riverdale season 6, which seemingly killed off Archie right in its premiere, has pretty clearly run its course. After doing everything possible with the story, it’s smart to end it with Riverdale season 7 instead of dragging the series out and getting it cancelled in the long run.

A show’s ending typically brings out bittersweet feelings from its talent, but the cast of Riverdale has long admitted that they are ready to move on from the teen drama. This sentiment has been echoed several times in interviews over the years. While filming Riverdale season 4, KJ Apa already let slip that he, alongside Reinhart, Sprouse, and Mendes, signed on to the show for the next three years, implying their potential departure after Riverdale season 7. Apa opened up regarding The CW’s decision, saying that “It’s going to be really hard to say goodbye to Archie, to Riverdale, to the sets, to [the] crew,” but noted how “all great things have to come to an end.”

Unfortunately, Riverdale is not the only show affected by CW’s 2022 mass cancellation of TV shows. Due to the recent merger between WarnerMedia and Discover into Warner Bros. Discovery, the company has cleaned house. In an unprecedented move, the network cleared out its slate by ending low-rated projects, such as Dynasty and The 4400. Superhero entries from DC — Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Naomi — also prematurely concluded due to Warner Bros. no longer wanting to pay to lease studio space anymore. It’s understandable–the Netflix-CW deal has ended and without Netflix and international revenue for its shows, the network is simply no longer profitable. However, unlike many of the other canceled CW projects, Riverdale is still being given the chance to wrap up its story for the sake of its viewers.