‘Riverdale’ Season 4 to Open with Luke Perry Tribute with Shannen Doherty
“Riverdale” on The CW will open with a Luke Perry tribute for season 4. Executive Producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed the tribute during the Comic-Con panel over the weekend, adding that Perry’s longtime friend and former romantic reel screen partner Shannen Doherty will be the special guest.
Perry played Fred Andrews in “Riverdale” until his unexpected death in March 2019 at the age of 52 due to stroke. Apparently, the actor has always wanted Doherty to guest star on the show ever since it debuted on the small screen, per Variety. The two worked together and became popular in the early 1990s with their teen show “902010” on FOX.
“They were such good friends, and when we were putting together this tribute episode, we wanted to make it as special as possible, and so we asked Shannen to do a pivotal, super-emotional role,” the executive producer said “She read the script and immediately said ‘yes.’ It’s very impactful.”
The special Riverdale episode will be part of the season 4 premiere titled “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam.” This installment will “will reflect Luke Perry’s enduring legacy and the indelible imprint his character, Fred Andrews, had on ‘Riverdale,'” and is set to air on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 8:00 p.m.
“Riverdale” would have given the tribute to Perry at the end of season 3. Aguirre-Sacasa, however, decided otherwise.
“We felt it wouldn’t be the right way to honor neither Luke nor the character Fred,” he said to the press, per The Wrap. “So we decided not long after the tragedy that we would wait and do a tribute to Luke and honoring his memory and deal with losing Fred Andrews at the beginning of Season 4.”
Meanwhile, Kerr Smith is joining the cast of “Riverdale” season 4 as the new school principal Mr. Honey. The actor’s first recurring role appearance will happen in the second episode of the new season.
“Riverdale” is based on the Archie comic books.
