Riverdale season 2

The second season of Riverdale premiered on The CW on October 11, 2017 and concluded on May 16, 2018 with a total of 22 episodes. The series is based on the characters from the Archie Comics, created by Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater, and was created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

The principal cast sees KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Marisol Nichols, Madelaine Petsch, Ashleigh Murray, MÃÂ¤dchen Amick and Luke Perry returning from the previous season, and introduces Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, and Skeet Ulrich in starring roles. The season centres around a shooter known as "The Black Hood" who terrorizes the citizens of Riverdale.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, the main protagonist of the series, a high school football player and musician trying to uncover the identity of the serial killer the Black Hood who shot and injured his father.
Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Archie and Veronica's best friend and Jughead's girlfriend who helps Archie uncover the identity of the Black Hood.
Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Archie's girlfriend, Hiram and Hermione's daughter and Jughead and Betty's best friend who also tries to help uncover the Black Hood's identity.
Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Archie and Veronica's best friend, Betty's boyfriend and the leader of the biker gang the Southside Serpents who tries to help defeat the Ghoulies and Hiram Lodge.
Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge, Veronica's mother, Hiram's wife and the co-owner of Lodge Industries who helps in her husband's criminal activities.
Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Penelope and Clifford's daughter, Nana Rose's granddaughter, Betty's second cousin and the leader of the Riverdale cheerleading squad the River Vixens.
Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy, the lead singer for the Josie and the Pussycats and Cheryl's best friend.
Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, a gangster, mob don, drug dealer, Veronica's father and Hermione's husband who tries to help criminalize Riverdale and is the main antagonist of the season.
Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Betty's other gay best friend who loves cruising through Fox Forest.
Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones, Jughead's father, a drug dealer and leader of the Southside Serpents who tries to save them and help defeat the Ghoulies.
MÃÂ¤dchen Amick as Alice Cooper, Betty and Polly's mother, Hal's wife and the co-owner and journalist for The Register who had previously dated FP in high school.
Luke Perry as Fred Andrews, Archie's father, Mary's husband and the owner of Andrews Construction Company who is shot and injured at the start of the season by the Black Hood at Pop's and tries to find out the killer's identity.

Recurring

Guest

Production

Development and writing

The series was renewed for a second season on March 7, 2017. Principal photography for the season began in June 2017 in Vancouver. On January 24, 2018, The CW announced the production of a musical episode for the season based on the Stephen Kings classic novel, Carrie. The episode, titled "" was first screened at the PaleyFest LA Spring Season in March 2018 and premiered on The CW on April 18, 2018, receiving positive reviews from critics.

Casting

On April 25, 2017, ahead of the first season finale, it was announced that Mark Consuelos had joined the cast to play Veronica's father, Hiram Lodge. Consuelos' casting, was in second position due to his co-starring role in the Fox baseball drama series Pitch, but that series was cancelled on May 1. A week later, Charles Melton was cast as Reggie Mantle, replacing Ross Butler, who originated the role during the first season, but left the show altogether due to his commitment as a series regular on 13 Reasons Why. That same day, Casey Cott was promoted to series regular as Kevin Keller.

On July 14, 2017, Brit Morgan of True Blood was cast to portray the recurring character of Penny Peabody. On August 11, 2017, Graham Phillips was cast as Nick St. Clair, Veronica's ex-boyfriend from New York.

Music

Release

The first trailer for the season was screened at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2017. The season premiered on The CW on October 11, 2017 and ended on May 16, 2018. The season debuted on Netflix in the United States on May 24, 2018, 8 days after the season ended its official broadcast on The CW; for Netflix in Latin America, the complete season became available on October 11, 2018, a year after it originally premiered in the U.S. The season was released on DVD & Blu-Ray by Warner Bros. on August 7, 2018.

Home media

The Complete Second Season was officially released on DVD in region 1 on August 7, 2018, by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. For region 2, it was released on August 20. The season was also released on Blu-ray for region A on August 7 by Warner Archives.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 88% based on 15 reviews, and an average rating of 7.61/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Riverdale enters its sophomore year with an off-kilter new murder mystery while continuing to up the hormonal teen melodrama."