Riverdale Production Remains Suspended Following Luke Perry'

[Jean]

www.eonline.com/news/1020796/riverdale-production-remains-suspended-/following-luke-perry-s-death

Riverdale production remains shut down for a second day following the untimely death of series star Luke Perry.

"We are deeply saddened to learn today about the passing of Luke Perry. A beloved member of the Riverdale, Warner Bros. and CW family, Luke was everything you would hope he would be: an incredibly caring, consummate professional with a giant heart, and a true friend to all. A father figure and mentor to the show's young cast, Luke was incredibly generous, and he infused the set with love and kindness. Our thoughts are with Luke's family during this most difficult time," Riverdale executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Jon Goldwater, and Warner Bros. Television and The CW, said in a statement.

"I'm absolutely heartbroken of the news that we lost someone so incredibly special. Luke had become a dear friend. We laughed. We cried. We share our showbiz war stories. We shared how proud we are as parents. I knew that he was always here for me no matter what. I'm so thankful for the time that we had together. He was an incredible loving and generous man. My thoughts and prayers are with his family right now. I will love you forever Luke," Mädchen Amick posted.

"I can't even begin to express the shock and sorrow I feel by the untimely death of my friend Luke Perry. He was one of the kindest, caring souls I've ever worked with. An incredible committed and proud father to his kids and a constant loyal friend to those he loved. I consider myself so lucky to have counted myself among them. With the many other people who adored him, his loss will be felt for a long long time. I miss him terribly," Molly Ringwald, who played Perry's wife on Riverdale, said in a statement.

KJ Apa took the news the worst, Luke Perry was a second father to KJ, and has been to his house and was introduced to Luke's son.

Riverdale is currently slated to air a new episode on Wednesday, March 6 on The CW. No word on whether the network will include any tribute to the late actor.

Perry passed away on Monday, March 4 following a stroke. Following his passing, Riverdale production was shut down and continued to be suspended on Tuesday, March 5 as the cast and crew dealt with the news. Perry was in his third season as Fred Andrews, father to Archie Andrews (KJ Apa).

[Jean]

As expected, they all need to mourn, and I'm sure right now no writer is thinking what to do with Fred Andrews. They only had three episodes left to shoot.

KJ Apa is so affected by this and needs time to heal. Since this week is episode 14, and they still have five more episodes after this to air. They have a little more time to figure it out. I wonder if they'll simply cut whatever scenes they had with Fred, and leave his death for S4's opener. No doubt, getting the actors to act to Fred dying, is too much right now.

[Tim]

Luke's death really blindsided them.  I feel bad for KJ and the other cast members of Riverdale.  They lost not only a value co-star, but a friend as well.

[adzpower]

My guess is they will do rushed re-writes and quickly get Molly Ringwald in to help ease Fred's passing, though with it still being so fresh....I think it might be way too soon, not just to write in but for the actors to act it out.

I think they'd be better off airing the episodes they've filmed, and then call it a day for the season, leaving whatever episode they filmed most recently as the finale, and perhaps add another couple episodes onto the next season to try and even it out.

[Tim]

I think they'd be better off airing the episodes they've filmed, and then call it a day for the season, leaving whatever episode they filmed most recently as the finale, and perhaps add another couple episodes onto the next season to try and even it out.

That might be best.  It will give the producers a few months to figure things out. 

[BettyNewbie]

All I can say is that I don't envy the Riverdale cast and crew right now. I've heard that they were possibly thinking about killing off Fred before this (Possibly due to Luke's health issues?), but now they have no choice.

I especially feel bad for KJ Apa. He lost someone who was a second father.

[Tim]

Yeah, it's best to shut down for the season.  Give the cast, especially KJ, time to process their grief.

[Tim]

A  new episode is airing tonight, I think.

[Jean]

Yes, a new one tonight after the break. Luke Perry is still in these, but these are the last few. Very sad.

[Tim]

Yeah, it is.  Did they finish filming the current season before he died?

[Katie]

Sadly they had a couple more to go when he passed. I'm not sure how much of these coming weeks, which filmed when he passed he did. We'll have to wait and see.

I know the actress playing Mary Andrews is going to appear in the last couple of episodes, so she might just be filling in for what role Luke Perry would have had. Better to do this, and then work Perry's death into S4. I don't think they are going to kill Fred and change the last two episodes suddenly, they might just do that for S4.

[BettyNewbie]

Apr 22, 2019 0:20:52 GMT -5 Katie said:

Sadly they had a couple more to go when he passed. I'm not sure how much of these coming weeks, which filmed when he passed he did. We'll have to wait and see.

I know the actress playing Mary Andrews is going to appear in the last couple of episodes, so she might just be filling in for what role Luke Perry would have had. Better to do this, and then work Perry's death into S4. I don't think they are going to kill Fred and change the last two episodes suddenly, they might just do that for S4.

I don't know if they've already planned anything for S4, but I've suggested before that they could do a time skip for that season. Not only would it bring the show closer to the time of the Katy Keene spinoff, but it would also allow them to quietly write out Fred Andrews offscreen.

[Tim]

Depends on how the season will end.  If a certain amount of time elapses between the end of this season and the start of the next, they could say that Fred died in that time period.

[Katie]

Apr 22, 2019 10:47:23 GMT -5 BettyNewbie said:

Apr 22, 2019 0:20:52 GMT -5 Katie said:

Sadly they had a couple more to go when he passed. I'm not sure how much of these coming weeks, which filmed when he passed he did. We'll have to wait and see.

I know the actress playing Mary Andrews is going to appear in the last couple of episodes, so she might just be filling in for what role Luke Perry would have had. Better to do this, and then work Perry's death into S4. I don't think they are going to kill Fred and change the last two episodes suddenly, they might just do that for S4.

I don't know if they've already planned anything for S4, but I've suggested before that they could do a time skip for that season. Not only would it bring the show closer to the time of the Katy Keene spinoff, but it would also allow them to quietly write out Fred Andrews offscreen.

Exactly right, perfect thing to do.  

I think a time jump might be in order too, so they can be in line with the spin-off. Making crossovers possible. 

[Tim]

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 

Of course this is not the first, nor will it be the last, that the sudden death of an actor affects a show.