Riverdale season 4: When is it on Netflix, what's the plot and has the trailer dropped?

9 October 2019, 16:19 | Updated: 1 April 2020, 09:02

Riverdale is back for a fourth season
Riverdale is back for a fourth season. Picture: The CW
Mared Parry

By Mared Parry

The fourth season of the popular CW show will be back on Netflix VERY soon.

Riverdale is back for a fourth season after an incredibly dramatic third - the whole Gryphons and Gargoyles storyline was a little bit wild, wasn't it?

However, the show's bosses have promised a 'normal' senior year for Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead and the gang before they all head off to university.

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Here's the lowdown of what's happening in season 4:

When does Riverdale return to Netflix in the UK and is there a trailer?

The show is being advertised widely as returning on Wednesday October 9th, which is the case for those in America and Canada - but in the UK it's different.

We only have to wait a few extra hours as the episode will drop on the morning of October 10th at 8am.

The extended trailer was revealed at ComicCon in America, you can watch it below:

How will Fred Andrews' death be addressed?

Luke Perry, who played Fred Andrews on the CW show sadly passed away on March 4th this year after suffering multiple serious strokes in his home in Los Angeles.

His legacy will be honoured in the first episode of the series, called 'Memoriam', where the character's death will be introduced into the plot and Archie will find out about his father's passing and the town will pay their own tribute.

Luke passed away during the end of season three's filming and then it was announced that his character was 'out of town', and Archie's mum, Mary (played by Molly Ringwald) was brought in to fill the gaps.

As writers had already written the finale when Luke passed away, show-runner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told Variety that they felt "trying to squeeze [a storyline] in would have been a disservice.”

"The loss of Luke will in form and change what the Season 4 storylines will be, especially in terms of Archie’s story but really in the overall tone of the show,” he told Vanity Fair.

Writing on social media, Aguirre-Sacasa said: "Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever. A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred."

What's the plot for season 4?

Season 3 wrapped up several ongoing storylines that spanned the whole series so far, and boy what a series it was!

The Gargoyle King (which we found out was all organised by Penelope Blossom) is over, the Black Hood (Hal Cooper) is now FINALLY dead, Chic is in jail and Jason Blossom is also definitely dead.

Apart from the Farm storyline, which saw the culty group of organ harvesters run away and 'ascend' with some of the main characters, along with the introduction of the REAL Charles, who is an FBI agent, season 4 looks like it'll be starting fresh.

One HUGE thing we have to ponder however, is the flash forward we saw in the last episode, which left us questioning whether Jughead dies or not?!

In the scene, Archie, Betty and Veronica can be seen covered in blood in front of a fire, burning their clothes and Jug's iconic beanie, with him nowhere to be seen.

Aguirre-Sacasa has teased that while they're still throwing around a few ideas for what could have happened there, but it likely won't be addressed until the middle of season 4.

For now, Cole Sprouse is on-set and Jughead is alive at the start of the season, and he will be attending prep school from now on, and only be in Riverdale at the weekend.

The season will most probably have 22 episodes, just like seasons 2 and 3.

The titles of the episodes so far are, according to SpoilerTV:

4x01 - 'Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam'
4x02 - 'Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High'
4x03 - 'Chapter Sixty: Dog Day Afternoon'
4x04 - 'Chapter Sixty-One: Halloween'
4x05 - 'Chapter Sixty-Two: Witness for the Prosecution'
4x06 - 'Chapter Sixty-Three: Hereditary'
4x07 - 'Chapter Sixty-Four: The Ice Storm'
4x08 - 'Chapter Sixty-Five: The Chimera'

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