Riverdale will pay tribute to the late Luke Perry in the opening episode of its upcoming fourth season.
Perry played Fred Andrews, the father of KJ Apa’s character Archie Andrews, in the first three series of the hit Netflix show. And the star, who passed away after suffering a stroke in March 2019 aged 52, will be honored in the show’s next installment, titled In Memoriam.
“Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever. A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred,” tweeted series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa on Wednesday (June 2019).
Perry’s last appearance on Riverdale was the season three episode Fear the Reaper, and his character was said to be out of town for the remainder of the season. And in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Aguirre-Sacasa insisted they didn’t want to rush a resolution for the character so soon after the Beverly Hills, 90210 star’s death.
“Luke was one of the hearts of the show – Luke and KJ, their relationship, and as crazy as things got, we always turned back to them,” he shared. “We wanted to honor Luke, and figure out the best way to handle the character of Fred Andrews in the show.”
Season four of Riverdale will start production this summer and is set to premiere on October 8th.
