In the winter of 1942, the adventures of the famous Archie Comics made their debut to the public. The stories follow the fiction teenage characters Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge Reggie Mantle, Sabrina Spellman, and Josie and the Pussycats. The comics follow storylines of humor, romance, adventure, superheroes, horror, and mystery. The Archie Comics are a testament to the passage of time both of the characters and the real worlds changing views. Over it's more than 75-year existence, the Archie Comics have changed with the times and tackled some of society's delicate issues. Now, a new television series is bringing new life and new imagination to the characters.
Riverdale, a tv series that follows the famous characters, made its debut in 2017. Much like the comics, the show follows the familiar faces and adds some new ones but showing it's audience the darker side of Riverdale. The series begins with the tragic death of Cheryl Blossom's twin brother, Jason, and the gang takes the mystery into their own hands. The show also follows the friendships and romantic relationships of the characters, especially the relationships of Jughead and Betty and Archie and Veronica. All of this making for a very dramatic version of the comics. The series features actors such as Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, KJ Apa, Mark Consuelos, and Luke Perry.
Also adding to the series is another spinoff. In 2018, Netflix launched a new series called The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This new series gives a new origin story to the teenage witch. While she is a character from the comics, much like Riverdale, she and the show are much darker. This new series is also a revamped version of the popular tv series Sabrina the Teenage Witch starring Melissa Joan Hart. The new series features actors such as Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Michelle Gomez, and Miranda Otto.
These tv series are bringing new life to the classic characters and allowing a new generation of audience members to enjoy them in a new medium. While these new versions are darker than the original comics, it allows the audience to connect to the characters on a more human level. In many other shows out there, the characters always seem to have different sides or personalities or in a way mood swings. The same thing is happening with these characters. It pulls the audience in for more. While there is still humor in each episode, the story seems to dive into that darkness of the people and the events that befall their town. This is a great way for our generation to enjoy characters that our parents and our grandparents knew. Even if they have changed a bit.
