Saying goodbye. Riverdale will honor Luke Perry seven months after his death when the CW drama returns for season 4.
On Wednesday, June 19, creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa shared a photo of the premiere script, titled, “In Memoriam.” He also gave a hint of what the episode would cover. “Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever,” he wrote on Twitter. “A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred.”
Perry died in March after suffering a stroke. He made his final appearance as Archie’s father in the April 24 episode. For the duration of season 3, the character was away on business – a choice the creator and the writers’ room made together.
“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,” Aguirre-Sacasa told E! News in May. “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 4.”
Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever. A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred. ❤️🏆💎👨🏻💻 pic.twitter.com/MH7xOjNyDu
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) June 19, 2019
After the May finale, he also revealed to Us Weekly that they were discussing “a couple of options” when it came to the future of Fred, but will be revealing what happened in the first couple episodes. With the premiere episode titled, “In Memoriam,” many fans took to social media to wonder if that meant Archie’s dad would die on the series.
In Fred’s absence, Molly Ringwald may return for more episodes as Archie’s mother.
“We love having Molly there and she’s so great,” the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina producer told Us. “We talked not long after Luke passed. She said, ‘Please don’t bring in some aunt from somewhere to take care of Archie. I’m there.’ I thought it was so wonderful of her. We’ll hopefully be seeing more of her.”
Riverdale returns to The CW Wednesday, October 9, at 8 p.m. ET.