Riverdale season 5: Release date, trailer, cast, spoilers and news

18 January 2021, 10:55

Riverdale reveal what everyone looks like after 7 year time jump

By Katie Louise Smith

Riverdale has been renewed for season 5. From the release date and trailer to returning cast members, here's everything we know so far... including that time-jump.

Get ready for another season of madness because Riverdale season 5 is officially happening. Confirmed by The CW back in January, the teen drama was given an early renewal alongside a bunch of other shows.

Filming on the final few episodes of season 4 was suspended for coronavirus safety reasons. With the final school year and the departing storyline of FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) still up in the air, season 5 will begin with the three episodes that the cast had yet to film.

READ MORE: KJ Apa confirms he has 3 more years on his Riverdale contract

The latest news? Riverdale season 5 will premiere on January 20th 2021.

Chris Mason will join the cast as Chad Gekko, Veronica's husband. He will appear when the show jumps forward 7 years in season 5, episode 4.

Drew Ray Tanner, who plays Fangs, has been upped to series regular. In season 5, Fangs is in an on-again-off-again relationship with Kevin and lives with Toni, who is now the Serpent Queen. (via E! Online)

Toni Topaz will also be pregnant when Riverdale jumps ahead 7 years. Vanessa Morgan's real life pregnancy has been written into the show.

Insatiable's Erinn Westbrook will also be joining the cast as a series regular. She'll be playing the role of Tabitha Tate, Pop Tate's granddaughter.

Here's everything we know so far about Riverdale season 5...

Has Riverdale season 5 been confirmed? Will there be a Riverdale season 5?

Yes - Riverdale was given an early renewal alongside a number of other CW shows back in January 2020. In March, production on the final few episode of season 4 was shut down following coronavirus concerns. As a result, season 5 was delayed.

Riverdale season 5 start date: When does Riverdale season 5 come back?

Riverdale season 5 will air on January 20th 2021.

Due to the shutdown of production, filming schedules have understandably been drastically altered. Filming for Riverdale season 5 would have typically begun in July 2020. Filming on season 5 officially started in September.

Lili Reinhart confirmed in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that the cast would have to quarantine for two weeks before starting the shoot.

As always, Riverdale will air on The CW on Wednesday night in the US and will drop on Netflix the next day on Thursday for everyone in the UK, or internationally.

How many episodes will be in Riverdale season 5?

With the season now airing in January 2021 instead of October 2020, there's a possibility that season 5 will have less episodes than the usual 22-episode season. SpoilerTV reports that there will be 19 episodes in season 5.

Writer Ted Sullivan confirmed on Twitter that the start of season 5 will begin with the 3 remaining episodes of season 4, two of which have yet to be filmed. In response to a fan asking if we'll ever get to see season 4 episodes 20, 21 and 22, he wrote: "You'll get them. Don't worry! You'll just have to wait until S5! They're really good too! Beautiful scripts."

Riverdale season 5 cast: Who is leaving and who is returning?

Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, KJ Apa, Cole Sprouse, Madelaine Petsch and Vanessa Morgan will all be returning. Charles Melton and Casey Cott will also hopefully return.

It's been confirmed that Skeet Ulrich will be leaving after season 4 and will not be returning full time to season 5. The door, however, has reportedly been left open for his character, FP Jones, to come back. His final appearance will be in the graduation episode.

It was previously announced that Marisol Nichols would also be departing at the end of season 4, but it's since been confirmed that she will be back as Hermione Lodge. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Marisol said: "I had a very long talk with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, our creator and showrunner of Riverdale, and I’m really proud to announce that Hermione will not only be back for season five, but she will be back stronger and better than ever.”

In an interview with EW, Mädchen Amick confirmed that she will be returning for season 5 as Alice Smith.

Mark Consuelos will also be returning. Hiram appeared on an episode of Katy Keene, which is set 5 years in the future, so it's safe to assume that Veronica's father will still be at large within the universe.

Molly Ringwald, Martin Cummins, Nathalie Boltt and Robin Givens are also all still currently in recurring/guest roles.

So far, no other cast members have been confirmed to be leaving the show.

READ MORE: Riverdale creator apologises to Vanessa Morgan and promises to do better

Lili Reinhart says she's "psyched" for Riverdale's Season 5 time jump

Will there be a time jump in Riverdale season 5?

Prior to the news being confirmed, fans had been speculating that season 5 would include a considerable time jump that will see our teen characters jump forward into their twenties, skipping the college years.

Speaking to ET, show runner Aguirre-Sacasa teased: "We’re trying to figure out if we are doing a time jump, how quickly we can do it -- and you know, my instinct is as quick as possible after we finish up the stories from season 4. I think we want to drop you in the middle of something crazy."

In an interview Jimmy Fallon in August 2020, Lili Reinhart seemed to confirm that the show would be jumping a whole 7 years into the future. Those Riverdale teens just turned into 25-year-olds right in the blink of an eye.

P.S. The 7 year time jump also means that FP Jones (and we assume the other parents?!) will now be 57 years old. Bye.

What will happen in Riverdale season 5?

The first 3 episodes of season 5 will consist of the final 3 episodes of season 4. We'll be seeing prom, graduation and hopefully a resolution to that creepy videotape mystery. Fingers crossed we'll find out what's happening between Chic and Charles too.

After the time jump, we'll also be meeting a whole host of new characters including Pop Tate's granddaughter Tabitha Tate, who will be rolling into town. According to a report from That Hashtag Show, a few members of the core four will also have new love interests – and one will be married. (SPOILER: It's Veronica. She's married to Chad Gekko, as character who appeared on Katy Keene. He will now be played by Chris Mason.)

Vanessa Morgan has also said that we can finally expect a backstory for Toni (for real, this time!) So far, we know that Toni is the new Serpent Queen and she has reopened the Whyte Wyrm. Vanessa's real life pregnancy was also written into the show, which means Toni will be pregnant when Riverdale flashes forward.

It also looks like the main villain/mystery of season 5 will involve a truck that cruises the highway at night.

Is there a Riverdale season 5 trailer yet?

Yes! You can watch it right here.

Watch the first trailer for Riverdale season 5