“Afterlife with Archie” is getting a TV series adaptation with the original creator from “Riverdale” returning to lead the show …
Are you ready to return to Riverdale but this time with a whole lot of zombies?
Well, “Afterlife with Archie” — a comic book series that set a zombie apocalypse in the fictional town of Riverdale where Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones and Veronica Lodge all call home — is being adapted into a new TV series at Disney+.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who served as the showrunner and creator behind “Riverdale” on the CW for all seven seasons, also wrote the original comic book and now he’s returning to lead this new series as well. The show is being produced by Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Productions with a script to series order in place.
When Aguirre-Sacasa took over Archie Comics, he revamped the beloved teen series by taking things in a new direction including several horror-themed stories. Another of those series “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” was already transformed into a series at Netflix and now “Afterlife with Archie” is getting a shot at Disney+.
The original comic was set in an alternate timeline where Riverdale was an apocalyptic hellscape overrun by zombies after Reggie accidentally runs over Jughead’s beloved dog Hot Dog and he asks Sabrina to resurrect his favorite pet with disastrous consequences. The dog bites Jughead and transforms him into the living dead and the zombie plague spreads across Riverdale.
The series only ran for 10 issues but remains a popular book among fans of the Archie series.
While “Riverdale” was a huge hit for the CW when the series ran there for seven seasons, which helped launch the careers of the stars including KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch and Cole Sprouse, it’s not expected that any of them will return for the new series — although a cameo or two might be nice.
Development on the series is already underway with Aguirre-Sacasa leading the way for the new show.
H/T: Deadline
