'Riverdale' Promo: Archie And The Gang Come To Life In The CW Series

A murder mystery, a buff Archie, and plenty of teen angst are what a new Riverdale promo is selling. The CW's take on the Archie comics is a present-day, slightly melodramatic look at Archie and the gang in their hometown of Riverdale, a place harboring a lot of dark secrets. The pilot debuted this year at San Diego Comic-Con, but it'll air early next year on The CW.

Below, watch the Riverdale promo.

Greg Berlanti (Arrow) is producing Riverdale, which has a pilot written by Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Supergirl). The Twin Peaks-inspired hour-long drama went from Fox to The CW, and they're clearly trying to reach their Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl audience with the comic book series. The show stars KJ Apa (Archie Andrews), Camilla Mendes (Veronica Lodge), Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper), and Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones).

Here's the Riverdale promo (Source: EW):

Lee Toland Krieger directed the Riverdale pilot in addition to a few of the other 23 episodes in season one. Krieger is the director behind two honest, grounded dramas, Celeste & Jesse Forever and The Vicious Kind, but the emotions get a little more played up in Riverdale, being a CW high school drama and all.The pilot had its fans at Comic-Con; the very dramatic and sometimes self-aware tone worked for some in attendance. Riverdale doesn't quite find its footing in the pilot, but it could easily one day on The CW. There's potential in the first episode of Riverdale. Reinhart and Mendes, for example, are well cast as Betty and Veronica, and they brought some much-needed levity to the pilot. The show could put their natural chemistry to great use in the future.

Here's the official synopsis:

As a new school year begins, the town of Riverdale is reeling from the recent, tragic death of high school golden boy Jason Blossom — and nothing feels the same... Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) is still the all-American teen, but the summer's events made him realize that he wants to pursue a career in music — not follow in his dad's footsteps—despite the sudden end of his forbidden relationship with Riverdale's young music teacher, Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel). Which means Archie doesn't have anyone who will mentor him — certainly not singer Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), who is only focused on her band, the soon-to-be-world-famous Pussycats. It's all weighing heavily on Archie's mind — as is his fractured friendship with budding writer and fellow classmate Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse).

Meanwhile, girl-next-door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is anxious to see her crush Archie after being away all summer, but she's not quite ready to reveal her true feelings to him. And Betty's nerves – which are hardly soothed by her overbearing mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) aren't the only thing holding her back. When a new student, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), arrives in town from New York with her mother Hermione (Marisol Nichols), there's an undeniable spark between her and Archie, even though Veronica doesn't want to risk her new friendship with Betty by making a play for Archie.

And then there's Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch)... Riverdale's Queen Bee is happy to stir up trouble amongst Archie, Betty, and Veronica, but Cheryl is keeping secrets of her own. What, exactly, is she hiding about the mysterious death of her twin brother, Jason? Riverdale may look like a quiet, sleepy town, but there are dangers in the shadows...

Riverdale premieres on January 26th.