The cast and showrunners of The CW’s Riverdale hit the stage at PaleyFest 2018 this year to tease what’s to come in the back half of season 2.
Hypable was on the scene at Hollywood’s iconic Dolby Theater for the event, which featured a very special screening of the show’s highly anticipated musical episode, and a moderated discussion with the cast that followed.
Check out some of the most interesting facts we learned from Riverdale’s panel at PaleyFest 2018 below!
1. The musical episode has been in the works for quite some time.
Before the cast and showrunners of Riverdale hit the stage at the Dolby Theater, fans in attendance were treated to a very special screening of the upcoming musical episode.
As Riverdale fans know, the musical episode will find all of our favorite characters putting on a high school production of the Broadway musical Carrie.
We won’t spoil what happens for those of you who want to experience it for yourselves, but lets just say the cast and crew really pulled out all the stops to put the production on.
In fact, in one of the first episodes of the night, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed that a musical episode is something that they’d thought about doing for quite some time.
Originally, they wanted to do it in the first season of the show, but they kept having to push it back. Finally, they realized that if they wanted to do it, there was never a better time than season 2.
“It was sort of a now or never moment,” said Aguirre-Sacasa, who also added that the entire production worked so well because everyone on the cast and crew really rallied together to make it happen.
2. The musical episode also serves as a turning point for longtime villain Chuck Jordan.
Riverdale fans have watched on as Chuck Jordan was understandably shunned for the way he mistreated quite a few of the girls in the first season of the series.
That being said, the big Carrie musical episode serves as a bit of a turning point for Chuck, who’s been a social pariah ever since he returned to Riverdale High.
“Part of this story was to redeem him because he’s so great and I think he could be great for the gang,” teased Aguirre-Sacasa.
3. Diving into Cheryl’s sexuality on the series is something that’s been in the works from very early on in the writer’s room.
There’s no denying that a huge part of Cheryl’s storyline this season has been diving into her sexuality. That storyline in particular is one that Madelaine Petsch says she was really excited to get to explore because it’s an important story to tell this day in age on television.
“It was a dark storyline to reveal for her, but the [fan] response has been so overwhelming,” said Petsch, who also revealed she’s grateful that Toni and Cheryl’s budding relationship has been so welcomed by the fan community.
Meanwhile, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa chimed in revealing that the subject of Cheryl’s sexuality is something that they had a conversation about early on in the writer’s room.
“It took a little while to get to the storyline, and the episode you guys haven’t seen which is really powerful is the one that airs this Wednesday (March 28),” teased Aguirre-Sacasa. “It’s a powerful episode between Cheryl and Toni.”
4. The best Bughead moment of the season hasn’t aired yet.
When Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse were asked to recount their favorite Betty and Jughead moment of the season, fans got a treat when Sprouse teased the best is yet to come.
Interestingly, the actor revealed that it’s not necessarily just a moment between Jughead and Betty.
“I think my favorite moment is coming up in an episode,” teased the actor. “It’s a moment between Jughead, Betty, and Chic, which I think is probably my favorite Bughead moment.”