‘Riverdale’ to Get Musical Spinoff Series

Riverdale is getting its very own spinoff, with the show’s creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, revealing on Wednesday, Jan. 23 that another set of Archie Comics characters will be coming to the small screen with the new show Katy Keene.

“The #Riverdale universe expands!” he tweeted. “Thrilled to be bringing the adventures of Katy Keene and her New York pals to life! Extra-thrilled to be doing this with my pal Michael Grassi!”

Aguirre-Sacasa accompanied the news with a comic book cover of Katy Keene, who was originally marketed as “America’s Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions.”

The Hollywood Reporter shares that Katy Keene has been ordered as a pilot at The CW, and will be written by Aguirre-Sacasa along with Grassi.

Katy Keene will follow four Archie Comics characters as they lead their twenty-something lives in New York City, with the show chronicling the “origins and struggles of four aspiring artists trying to make it on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio.”

Riverdale previously ventured into musical territory with its “Carrie: The Musical” episode in 2018, and will do so again when it tackles “Heathers: The Musical” for an episode airing on March 20, so Aguirre-Sacasa should have no trouble handling Katy Keene‘s musical elements.

The character of Katy Keene is a model, actress and singer first introduced in 1954 and created by Bill Woggon. She was known for her sense of style and fans were encouraged to submit drawings of outfits for Katy and her friends to wear, with readers receiving credit for their submissions in subsequent issues.

Along with Katy, her comics also featured her younger sister, known only as Sis, along with a number of Katy’s boyfriends including boxer K.O. Kelly and his wealthy rival Randy Van Ronson.

Katy Keene is the second Riverdale spinoff, with Aguirre-Sacasa also helming The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which was originally slated to be a CW project before moving to Netflix for its premiere last fall. Sabrina has already been renewed for a second season, which will premiere April 5.

Aguirre-Sacasa previously hinted at a second spinoff in August during Summer the CW’s Television Critics Association press tour, saying only that they were still working through details.

“We’re really excited but we’re still early on in the process,” he said via Entertainment Tonight. “It will be very different from Riverdale.”

Photo Credit: The CW