Netflix series ‘Riverdale’ Review

In January 2017, Netflix Australia became home to the new murder-mystery cross  teen-drama Riverdale.

Set in the fictional American town of Riverdale, the show follows students of Riverdale High School and their families as the town grapples with the death of one of the students, Jason Blossom. As the mystery surrounding the death of Jason unfolds, some of Riverdale High School’s students; Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews, Veronica Lodge and Jughead Jones decide to take matters into their own hands and investigate the murder themselves. The series is based on the Archie Comics, one of the oldest and longest running brands in the comic book industry.

Interestingly, Riverdale was not made available to viewers in the usual ‘Netflix style’ of making all the episodes available in one go. The series is uploaded one episode at a time, with Netflix viewers having to wait until Friday of each week for a new episode. Riverdale originally aired in the U.S on the CW Network, and Netflix picked up the international broadcasting rights to the series. The series airs weekly on Netflix, as Riverdale is still airing on the CW network. It airs in the U.S on Thursday night, and is made available to an international audience through Netflix the next day.

The show itself is enjoyable, with just enough plot twists and turns to keep it interesting, while being easy to follow and at times laced with a dark kind of humour. Riverdale is dark, moody and addictive. It’s ridiculous and overly dramatic, but it works. The Blossom family, for example, while dealing with the death of their son, swan around in their ‘Adams Family’ style mansion, drinking wine from goblets while dressed in dark velvet. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the gothic-like drama makes it even better.

So far, seven episodes of Riverdale have aired on Netflix, with a further three to come following a brief hiatus. Fans of the show have taken to Twitter to voice their frustration at having to wait for the new episodes.

no patience for the new riverdale episode to come out ☹️

— liv (@veresuk_xo) March 22, 2017

i want a new riverdale out right now

— julia kittmer (@juliakittmer_) March 21, 2017

The series covers every type of teen drama imaginable, as well as delving into the darkness of a murder mystery. Riverdale is best enjoyed with an open mind, a willingness to appreciate the dark and the overdramatic, and a goblet full of red wine, of course.

Riverdale returns to Netflix on 31 March 2017, with the season finale airing on 14 April 2017.