Archie changes with the times - in print, on TV

﻿KJ Apa will take on the role of Archie Andrews in The CW's "Riverdale."﻿ ﻿KJ Apa will take on the role of Archie Andrews in The CW's "Riverdale."﻿ Photo: Handout, HO Photo: Handout, HO Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Archie changes with the times - in print, on TV 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Archie Comics is reaching into your TV screen, and how they're doing it will surprise you.

For decades Archie Comics was once the most conservative publisher extant, regurgitating the same anodyne, formulaic and goofy high school antics with its eternally adolescent cast - Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and the gang.

Not any more.

In 2015, Archie Comics re-launched with one of the most respected and experienced writers in the industry, the near-legendary Mark Waid, at the helm of "Archie." In "Archie" he smoothly walks a tightrope, dragging the character into the 21st century with issues like homosexuality and death, while maintaining the elements that have made the teen redhead and his friends popular since 1940.

Shortly after "Archie," the company did the same for "Jughead." And next month Riverdale's best frenemies get a makeover with the release of "Betty & Veronica."

But "New Riverdale," as it's sometimes called, isn't the only place you'll see new versions of the Riverdale gang. Archie Comics has also launched a breathtakingly daring - and genuinely creepy - horror line. In "Afterlife With Archie," the remnants of the Archie gang are on the run from an undead Jughead in the zombie apocalypse.

One thing all of these books have in common is a fearlessness in taking chances. The books don't shy from death, even of main characters, and feature stories and situations that would give aneurysms to the Archie editors of the past.

So what does this have to do with television? Well, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, a playwright, screenwriter and comic-book writer who is now Archie's chief creative officer, has been laboring on "Riverdale" for quite a while, where he is both writer and an executive producer. The one-hour, live-action show has been picked up by The CW, where it will be a midseason replacement (which probably means a January 2017 premiere).

Of particular interest to regular CW viewers is that the series will be co-produced by Warner Brothers Studios and Berlanti Productions. The latter production company is the one responsible for a clutch of successful comics-to-TV shows, including "Arrow," "Flash," "Legends of Tomorrow" and, as of its second season, "Supergirl."

None of which would be particularly interesting if this Archie show took the same approach as other Archie TV efforts, like the many cartoons or the 1990 TV movie "Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again." Instead, "Riverdale" will reflect the new risk-taking attitude at Archie Comics, being described on archiecomics.com as "a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring small-town life and the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale's wholesome facade."

"Subversive"? "Darkness"? "Weirdness"? Those aren't the usual words people associate with Archie, but this is a new world. Check out the show's description from The CW. It's long, but if you read the whole thing you find out about new girl Veronica Lodge grabbing Archie's attention from Betty, Jughead is an aspiring writer, there's been a death in the high school and Archie has an illicit affair with one of his teachers.

As if that's not enough the description states, "Riverdale may look like a quiet, sleepy town, but there are dangers in the shadows."

It's definitely a surprising new version of Archie for TV, joining the other surprising, new Archies in the comics.