All Our Favorite 90s stars – seriously, like all of them
The thing that makes Riverdale really special, in addition to everything I’ve already listed here, is that the parents are all faces you’ll recognize from your youth if you’re over like 27. We’ve got Skeet Ulrich, Luke Perry, Molly Ringwald, Mark Consuelos (what? You didn’t watch All My Children as a kid?), and Locklyn Munro.
They all have their own motivations and stuff going on that is often separate from their kids’ shenanigans and I’m pretty sure both Luke Perry and Skeet Ulrich got like 1000x hotter between 1997 and now. Who knew I had a thing for hot dads trying to be good parents and mucking it up half the time?
Oh, right. Everyone.
Luke is Archie’s dad, and Skeet is Jughead’s dad, and the show is worth watching for that alone. Molly Ringwald plays Archie’s mom and she pops in and out as the show progresses, but she’s this badass lady who’s maybe not the greatest mom but she’s pursuing her own happiness and I can’t fault her for that. Plus, sad Luke Perry is even more attractive than happy Luky Perry and… Shh, don’t judge me.
Anyway, more Molly, please and thank you!
For real, though, this show is straight up bananas. We go from the normal soapy high school dramatics to some pretty heavy stuff almost immediately, and each season centers around some kind of mystery. The first is Jason Blossom’s murder, and the second is the Black Hood (a vigilante dude who’s maybe more murderer than vigilante). It shouldn’t work as well as it does, but it really works. If you like strong lady characters, high drama, and lots of delicious angst, Riverdale is the show for you!