2017 → 2026 · Cast then & now
Riverdale Cast: Then and Now
The cast then and now — with the original tribute song “Sweetwater”.
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About the series
Riverdale, then & now
Riverdale premiered in 2017, and ran for 7 seasons. This page follows Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) then and now, with real ages, 12 then-vs-now collector’s cards in this tribute and the original tribute song “Sweetwater”.
The cast · 12 collector’s cards
Where is the Riverdale cast now (2026)?
The Riverdale cast then and now: 12 collector’s cards, 2017 vs 2026, with real ages. Tap a card to flip it and watch them walk side by side.
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“Sweetwater”
Neon flickers on the diner glass
Read the lyrics
Neon flickers on the diner glass
Milkshake melting while the hours pass
Letterman jacket, a match struck slow
Small town secrets that the river knows
We were young and a little unkind
Chasing the shadows we left behind
Down by the Sweetwater, oh
Where the cold current runs and the lights burn low
We were fire, we were trouble, we were gold
Down by the Sweetwater, oh oh oh
I still hear it callin' me home
First love bruises like a summer storm
Keep your friends close where it's dangerous and warm
Every good kid's got a darker side
In this pretty town where the bad things hide
We were young and a little unkind
Chasing the shadows we left behind
Down by the Sweetwater, oh
Where the cold current runs and the lights burn low
We were fire, we were trouble, we were gold
Down by the Sweetwater, oh oh oh
I still hear it callin' me home
Years go by but the neon stays
Some hearts never leave that maze
Whatever we were, we were real
Down by the water, that's how it feels
Down by the Sweetwater, oh
Where the cold current runs and the lights burn low
We were fire, we were trouble, we were gold
Down by the Sweetwater, oh oh oh
I still hear it callin' me home
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Riverdale in numbers
The cast, then & now
| Character | Actor | Then (2017) | Now (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Betty Cooper | Lili Reinhart | 20 | 30 |
| Archie Andrews | KJ Apa | 19 | 29 |
| Veronica Lodge | Camila Mendes | 22 | 32 |
| Jughead Jones | Cole Sprouse | 24 | 34 |
| Cheryl Blossom | Madelaine Petsch | 22 | 32 |
| Toni Topaz | Vanessa Morgan | 25 | 34 |
| Kevin Keller | Casey Cott | 24 | 34 |
| Josie McCoy | Ashleigh Murray | 29 | 38 |
| Reggie Mantle | Charles Melton | 26 | 35 |
| FP Jones | Skeet Ulrich | 47 | 56 |
| Alice Cooper | Mädchen Amick | 46 | 55 |
| Fred Andrews | Luke Perry | 50 | 52 passed away |
Ages from verified birth dates, updated 02 November 2026.
Riverdale premiered on The CW on January 26, 2017, with the pilot "Chapter One: The River's Edge." It ran for 7 seasons and 137 episodes, ending August 23, 2023.
Created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, based on the Archie Comics characters who first appeared in Pep Comics #22 back in December 1941 — one of the longest-running comic book lines ever.
Most of the show was filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. Riverdale High's exterior is Lord Byng Secondary; Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe is actually Rocko's Family Diner in Mission, BC.
The Blossom mansion is Cecil Green Park House on the UBC campus, and Fort Langley's historic streets stood in for downtown Riverdale.
Jughead's grey crown-trimmed beanie is technically called a "whoopee cap" — a real accessory popular with teens back in 1941, the same year Jughead debuted in the comics.
Cole Sprouse wore the same single beanie for 35 episodes before Jughead finally ditched it in Season 5 to mark the end of high school.
Riverdale swept all seven categories it was nominated in at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, then won six more in 2018, including Choice Drama Actor/Actress for Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart.
Fred Andrews actor Luke Perry passed away in March 2019 during Season 3 production; the show wrote his character's exit as a tribute to him.
Riverdale spun off two shows in its shared Archie-verse: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) and Katy Keene (2020), the latter starring Ashleigh Murray's Josie McCoy as a lead.
For its final season, Riverdale pulled off a 7-year time jump, aging the core cast into their late twenties for the show's send-off.
The series finale, "Goodbye, Riverdale" (Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven), aired August 23, 2023.
Since Riverdale ended, Charles Melton (Reggie) earned a Golden Globe nomination and a Gotham Award for May December, while Camila Mendes (Veronica) and KJ Apa (Archie) both kept headlining films — Mendes in Do Revenge and Masters of the Universe, Apa playing Jimmy Stewart in the 2026 biopic Jimmy.