Grown man Luke Perry will join The CW's 'Riverdale' series as an actual grown man
It's hard to believe it's been nearly 26 years since then-24-year-old heartthrob Luke Perry first graced our screens as high-school student Dylan McKay on the original series of Beverly Hills, 90210.
However, it's a reality made all the more inescapable by the fact that 49-year-old Perry is now old enough to get cast as a real, actual adult human, picking up the role of Archie Andrews' dad in The CW's Riverdale, an upcoming re-envisioning of the world of Archie comics for modern audiences.
As CBR reports, Perry will inhabit the shoes of "easygoing" construction-firm owner Fred Andrews, an everyday joe who works hard, probably loves his family and "is hoping his son, who worked for him all summer, will someday take over the family business".
Perry's casting comes amid a raft of other announcements, the way being led by the news of Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse's attachment to the show — currently at pilot stage for The CW — with the pair signing on to play Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones respectively. Additionally, according to CBR, the show has also found its Archie, in 18-year-old Kiwi actor KJ Apa (Shortland Street, A Dog's Purpose), and its Josie (of Josie & The Pussycats) in Ashleigh Murray.
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Interestingly, music appears poised to play a notable role in the "subversive" look at Archie's historically clean-cut middle-American town, describing Archie as "an intense, conflicted teen, a boyish high school sophomore who got pumped up over the summer working construction and is now juggling the interest of several girls, as well as trying to balance his passion for writing and performing music — against the wishes of his father and his football coach", while Josie's description explains she is "a gorgeous, snooty and ambitious girl who is the lead singer for popular band Josie and the Pussycats", and that she "has zero interest in recording any songs written by fellow teen Archie".
Riverdale is produced by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash). Its pilot was written by Archie Comics chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who will also serve as a co-executive producer.