Looks like Riverdale will soon have bigger problems than just Jingle-Jangle and the Gargoyle King. Disney+ is developing a new hour-long horror series based on Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla‘s zombie comic Afterlife With Archie.
According to Deadline, which first reported the news, the project has received a script-to-series commitment and comes from Aguirre-Sacasa, Greg Berlanti‘s Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television, where both Aguirre-Sacasa and Berlanti are under overall deals.
First published in 2013, Afterlife with Archie reimagines the classic comic book as Riverdale is suddenly overrun by the living dead. The chaos begins after Sabrina the Teenage Witch attempts to resurrect Jughead Jones’ dog, Hotdog, who returns as a zombie and bites his master, setting off a chain reaction that sparks a full-blown apocalypse. Soon, Archie and his friends are forced into unthinkable choices, executing teachers, parents, and classmates to survive, all while their familiar teen dramas play out against the backdrop of horror.
CW Network / Courtesy Everett Collection
The comic ran for 10 issues, but failed to provide an adequate ending for readers after it went on hiatus in 2016. The story ended on a cliffhanger with Archie, Betty, Veronica, and the survivors still fleeing the zombie apocalypse.
Aguirre-Sacasa, the showrunner behind both CW’s Riverdale and Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, will exec produce the series with Jimmy Gibbons. He was named the publisher’s Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics in March 2014 after overseeing two of its most successful titles: Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is credited with reviving the brand by steering its characters in bold new directions.
Premiering in January 2017 on The CW, Riverdale ran as an hour-long drama that reimagined the classic Archie Comics characters as they navigated high school drama, dark secrets, and a string of shocking murders. However, as the series progressed, the show blended teen soap tropes and noir-inspired mystery with supernatural twists to create bizarre plotlines and memorable memes aplenty. The series ended in August 2023 after 137 episodes
Netflix
Its Netflix spinoff, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, ran for two parts split into four installments and was equally dark yet devilishly delightful, sending its teen witch into the depths of hell and beyond as she battled dark forces and cosmic threats before ending in 2020. Premiering in October 2018 and ending in December 2020, the show lasted 36 episodes before Netflix canceled it.
Afterlife with Archie isn’t the only Riverdale-based project in the works. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are currently working on a live-action feature from screenwriter Tom King.