Riverdale Will Eventually Unite Every Teen Heartthrob of Every Era
The rapture is coming, and by rapture, I mean the time when all former teen television heartthrobs of every previous era will finally join in union on Riverdale. On Friday, TV Line reported that Chad Michael Murray, erstwhile One Tree Hill star, would be joining the Archie comics universe as a “sexy cult leader” named Edgar Evernever this season, which sounds a lot more like a sexy professor with a dark past from The Secret History than it does like a cult leader, but that’s okay.
“As the enigmatic leader of the cult-like Farm,” reads the character description, per TV Line, “Edgar arrives in Riverdale to spread his teachings and heal the ravaged soul of this once wholesome town.” He is a “charming, handsome guru” who may be “hiding a more sinister agenda.” You don’t say! Edgar, for the uninitiated, has already made his mark on the Riverdale community, even from afar: Betty Cooper’s mother, Alice, donated her daughter’s college savings to the Farm, a cult that’s been on the fringes of the Riverdale universe nearly since the show’s inception.
Riverdale has already minted its own contingent of teen stars for teens to sigh over and has had former 90210 hunk Luke Perry in a major role since the begining, but the show, and the extended Greg Berlanti cinematic universe, has also ushered in new gigs for the likes of Skeet Ulrich, Mark Consuelos, and John Stamos, in addition to Murray. So, in honor of Chad Michael Murray’s entrée into the Riverdale universe, here’s who we’re anticipating seeing next arriving in town—the freaks, the geeks, the Orange County kids, and more.
Peter Gallagher
Peter Gallagher’s never not going to play a daddy (sorry, Chad Michael Murray), but his Riverdale daddy is… hiding a dark secret. You know the drill.
Adam Brody
Three seasons down the line, Cole Sprouse’s Jughead is going to move in with a new family. There, he’ll meet Adam Brody—his adoptive brother, with a dark past.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
The star of Home Improvement and the voice of young Simba in The Lion King—and, more recently, the star of Charli XCX’s “1999”—Thomas will play an alternative milk entrepreneur whose shady business dealings set Riverdale alight.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Saved By the Bell’s Mark-Paul Gosselaar was born for his Riverdale role: a woodworking furniture designer whose cabin in the woods is hiding some insidious secrets.
John Francis Daley
One of Freaks and Geeks’s geeks, one of the bones on Bones (right?), John Francis Daley will be recruited to Riverdale to play a scientist whose research tends towards the bloodthirsty.
James Van Der Beek
Joshua Jackson, too, while we’re at it—they can play zookeeper brothers. Only, you don’t want to get stuck in this zoo after dark.
Kyle Chandler
A gym teacher with a mysterious past. A football coach with sinister intentions. A washed-up track star who’s sticking around Riverdale for a dark reason. The choice is yours, Kyle Chandler.
Tom Welling
Formerly Clark Kent, next up, we’re anticipating seeing Tom Welling as a commercial pilot who crash-lands in Riverdale and causes some unexpected havoc.
Chace Crawford
Gossip Girl doesn’t need a reboot because Riverdale is sure to recruit Chace Crawford as the pretty young paralegal with some serious skeletons in his closet. Penn Badgley has You, Ed Westwick is … well, it’s time to resuscitate Chace Crawford.
Donny Osmond
He may or may not be occupied with The Masked Singer, but in any case, we’ll welcome Donny Osmond into the fold when his time comes to appear on Riverdale—as a ballroom dance star with serious mommy issues.
