‘Jake Chang’: Daniel Dae Kim Developing New Archie Comics Series for The CW

Martin Holmes June 24, 2022, 8:56 am

Riverdale might be coming to an end, but The CW isn’t planning on saying goodbye to the Archie Comics universe just yet, as the network eyes Jake Chang, a new series from Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD.

According to Deadline, the series comes from writer Oanh Ly and writer-director Viet Nguyen (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and centers on the forthcoming Archie character Jake Chang, who will make his comic book debut in July 2022. Much like Riverdale, the series is described as a “soapy, noir thriller teen drama set in the world of Archie Comics.”

The Asian-American-led mystery drama follows the 16-year-old Jake, a private investigator navigating the racially and socio-economically diverse worlds of his gentrified home of Chinatown and the elite private high school he attends. According to Deadline, the show will flip “nearly every Asian stereotype—honor, martial arts, destiny, lineage, parental sacrifice—on its head.”

Jake will make his comic debut in the July 27 issue in the “Mystery of the Missing Mermaid” story. The TV adaptation is being developed as a standalone series, not a spinoff of Riverdale, and there are no current plans to introduce the character on Riverdale‘s seventh and final season.

Archie Comics Drama ‘Jake Chang’ In Works At CW From Oanh Ly, Viet Nguyen & Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD https://t.co/xbJetT9snd

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 23, 2022

“We are so proud and honored to be a part of this new wave of Asian-American content created by and starring Asian-Americans,” Ly and Nguyen said (via Deadline). “The world of Jake Chang is vast, compelling, and a whole lot of fun. And just like our rascally teen detective, we’re going to lean into the ‘F U’ of the original ‘Fu Chang’ IP and delightfully destroy all familiar tropes and tell a unique Asian-American story.”

Archie Comics previously introduced a character called Fu Chang, an American-educated international private detective living in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1940s. Based on the comments from Ly and Nguyen, it appears there is a connection between Jake and Fu that will be explored in the upcoming series.