KJ Apa on ‘Riverdale’ Ending: ‘It’s Going to Be Really Hard to Say Goodbye to Archie’

Riverdale will end with Season 7 at The CW, with the final season premiere airing Wednesday, March 29. Ahead of the YA drama’s final season, we’re looking back on KJ Apa‘s response to the show’s impending conclusion.

Apa plays Archie Andrews in the supernatural melodrama, based on the Archie Comics. He’s joined by Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, and Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge. TV Insider spoke with the star at The CW upfront presentation on Thursday, May 19, 2022. There, he told us how he feels about Riverdale coming to a close.

While Apa said the cast wasn’t necessarily surprised by the cancellation, he was still saddened by the decision.

“A lot of us kind of saw it coming. We knew it was going to finish sooner rather than later. But overall, I feel lots of mixed emotions. I’m sad,” he told TV Insider. “It’s going to be really hard to say goodbye to Archie, to Riverdale. I can’t say I’m going to miss the red hair, but yeah. It’s going to be hard.”

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Interestingly, Apa implied the show might not have been planning for Season 7 to be the last. When asked if he thought Season 6 has been building to a natural conclusion in Season 7, Apa said, “I don’t think so.”

“I think in Season 7, we’ll start to see some kind of conclusion to the show,” he continued. “But I think currently, we’re still going down this road guns blazing.”

Riverdale Season 7 will see the gang sent back to high school and back in time to 1955. The town was saved by Bailey’s Comet at the end of Season 6 thanks to the crew combining their powers and sending Cheryl to save the day, but now they’ll have to figure out how to get back to their time period. At the top of the season, only Jughead will remember they’re from the future.

Apa said not to expect a Varchie and Bughead reunion in the final episodes of Season 6. While some episodes hinted at a possible return of the OG Riverdale couples (Betty encouraged Veronica to kiss Archie in the most recent episode, since he’s the only person immune to her venomous black widow lips), Apa warned not to read too much into it.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, to be honest,” he said of a possible Varchie and Bughead return. “Not this season.”

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With just one season left, we wanted to know what final homages Apa hopes to create. The No. 1 show he wants to pay tribute to: “Probably Entourage.”

“One of my favorite TV shows was Entourage. There hasn’t been a show really like that one. I remember binging that show in like, two weeks. I love that show,” he shared. As for what the final Riverdale musical episode could be, Apa has some ideas.

“The musicals that we’ve done have been pretty cool. I think I’d like to see some more rock musicals,” he said. “Recently, I haven’t been really into musicals so much. But next season, don’t worry. I’ll be singing my heart out.”

Riverdale musical episodes have included Hedwig And The Angry Inch, Carrie, Next to Normal, and Heathers.

“Heathers was fun. I went in on that one,” Apa reminisced.

One pop culture fixture referenced in the Riverdale Season 7 premiere is James Dean. Veronica’s 1950s Hollywood starlet will dish all about her time with the recently departed star, and Cheryl won’t take too kindly to it. Check out the TV Insider exclusive clip of the scene here.