Oscar buzz and co-star romances: What the cast of Riverdale are all up to now

What is the cast of Riverdale up to now? You know you’re desperate to find out if they recovered from the highs and lows of high school football?

The teen drama hit the CW in 2017; the latest offering in their pantheon of teen drama. Based on the character and world set out in the Archie Comics, it began as a normal typical of the genre. However, as the show went on, it turned into absolute chaos. Across its seven seasons, Riverdale had some truly bonkers storylines. These ranged from parents trying to get other people’s children sent to prison. Musical productions that involved on-stage death. Gang crime. Snakes. The implication of incest and necrophilia. At one point, there were teenagers doing strip teases in front of their boyfriend’s fathers. A drug that went by the name of Jingle Jangle. At another impasse, a creature known as the Sugar Man terrorised the entire population of the small town invented in 1941 in Pep Comics. 

The pure-grade nonsense was not missed by the cast, who often joked through gritted teeth about some of the plots and writing they were given each week in their scripts. However, since Riverdale ended last year (with some time travel, no less), the stars have been free to explore other projects.

Here is what the cast of Riverdale is up to now.

Charles Melton 

Charles is widely considered to be the breakout star of Riverdale with his critic-wowing performance in May December, the new Todd Haynes pick. His portrayal of grooming victim-turned-family man Joe in the Todd Haynes biopic got him his first Golden Globe nomination and lots of Oscar buzz. The movie – which also stars Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman – debuted at the Cannes Film Festival before arriving on Netflix late last year.

He left Kansas State University to become an actor. At first, he got bit parts in shows like Glee and American Horror Story before he got the part of Reggie Mantle, replacing Ross Butler in the show’s second season. His feature film debut was 2019’s teen drama The Sun is Also a Star opposite Yara Shadidi. Also that year, pop princess Ariana Grande got him star in her video for her single ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored’.

On the relationship front, he got tounges wagging when he hard launched his relationship with his co-star Camila Mendes on the GQ Men of The Year Awards red carpet in 2018. According to reports, their split in 2019 led him into the arms of Chase Sui Wonders. However, their dalliance must have been short-lived because she was soon linked to Pete Davidson. In May 2023, he was seen getting close to actress and model Chloe Bennet.

KJ Apa

KJ, who has spoken about being proud of his Maori heritage, began his career in his homeland of New Zealand in the iconic soap opera Shoreland Street – their version of Neighbours, if you will – before making it stateside as Archie Andrews, a character that first appeared in the 1941 comic. 

While playing Kane Jenkins in 2014, KJ once shared the screen with Ed Sheeran, who was making one of his famous cameos (like in Game of Thrones). 

During his time on Riverdale, KJ managed to squeeze in a number of other projects like the Hate U Give alongside Amandla Stenberg. However, in 2022, he ventured on the greatest adventure of all (fatherhood) when his model girlfriend, Clara Berry, gave birth to their son, Sasha Vai Kenti Apa. 

That same year, he was cast in the as-yet-to-be-released action movie One Fast Move with Eric Dane, Maia Reficco and Austin North.

Lili Reinhart 

Lili was tasked with bringing Betty Cooper to life after umming and wondering whether she wanted to pursue acting at all. At 18, she made her way to Hollywood before throwing in the towel and returning to her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. After a year and a half, Lili opted to give Hollywood another go. A few days later, poof like magic, she was offered her big television break. While on the show, Lili racked some impressive credits to her resume, like Chemical Hearts and Hustlers, boasting co-stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu and Cardi B. Earlier this month, Lili was named the executive producer of the Vincent Rene-Lorte short film Invincible.

Following the grand tradition of falling in love with your co-star, she got together with Jughead actor Cole Sprouse. After their on-and-off love affair, they fully called it quits in March 2020. Amid one of their brief splits, before finally calling it quits for good in March 2020, Lilli came out as a “proud bisexual woman” via social media.

Lili, who has spoken out extensively about her mental health struggles, followed a dangerous path when she came for Kim Kardashian and what she sees as her negative impact on women’s body image. She had particular ire for her decision to go on an extreme diet to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s iconic nude illusion Bob Mackie design to the 2022 Met Gala, dubbing it “so wrong” and “so fucked”.

 

Camila Mendes 

After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2016, Camila booked the Riverdale that same year, being named as the actress trusted to bring to life the raven-haired rich girl Veronica. She made her film debut in The New Romantic, which premiered at the prestigious SWXS Festival in 2018. Her string of credits since then includes the Adam Samberg rom-com Palm Spring and the pastel Netflix Original Do Revenge with Maya Hawke.

Upon the show’s end, Camila entered her executive producer era when it was announced she would lead in front and behind the camera on the two rom-coms Musica and Upgraded, both tipped to be released this year.

Camila grabbed the headlines when art imitated life when it was revealed she was dating her co-star Charles Melton. However, the pair ended this after one year of dating in December 2019. On-screen love turned into off-screen romance again for Camila when she was reportedly dating Rudy Mancuso, her Musica co-star. After months of rumours, their union was confirmed on Valentine’s Day last year.

Madeline Petsch 

Madeline headed to LA to chase fame and fortune after graduating from Tacoma School of the Arts in her native Washington state. Like many of the cast, Riverdale gave the feisty redhead her first big break, which she has been able to parlay into movies such as F the Prom, Polaroid, Sighless and Hotel For the Holidays.

Supplementary to her acting, Madeline can also be found on YouTube, where she posts regular updates about her life to her six million subscribers. Until 2020, she dated the rapper Travis Miles for three years. However, she has been linked to Halsey’s manager, Anthony Li, since August 2022, marking their one-year anniversary on her Instagram Story.

Cole Sprouse

Cole was one of the few established names at the start of the show as he – along with his twin brother Dylan – had starred on the Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody as a 00s kid. After its 2005 debut, the twins became some of the most famous kids in the world for their antics, running around the Tipton hotel with their castmates like Ashley Tisdale and Brenda Song. Don’t forget he also made sitcom history by appearing in Friends as Ross Geller’s son Ben, a role he didn’t share with his brother. 

Upon the 2011 axe of the spin-off The Suite Life On Deck, the pair vacated showbiz to enter the real world via his archaeology degree at New York University, graduating in 2015. The role of Jughead marked his return to acting and his transition to more mature roles, which he developed further in the 2019 film Five Feet Apart with Haley Lu Richardson. It was also his first cinematic role in nearly 20 years since playing Adam Sandler’s son in Big Daddy. 

Off-screen, Cole garnered attention for dating his co-star Lili Reinhart after meeting on set. After their on-off relationship ended in March 2020, he appeared on Call Her Daddy and revealed they were now “really good friends” and that they “work really well together”.  He is currently linked to the model Ari Fournier and has been for the last three years.

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