Posted in: CW, Riverdale, TV | Tagged: archie, betty, bleeding cool, cable, comic books, Comics, cw, F.P Jones, FP Jones, jughead, riverdale, season 5, Skeet Ulrich, streaming, television, tv, veronica

Riverdale Star Skeet Ulrich Gives Blunt, Honest Reason for Leaving

You're curious as to why Skeet Ulrich is leaving Riverdale, the uber-popular CW drama series and so am I. So, here's what we know: Ulrich plays Jughead's dad, F.P. Jones, on Riverdale and he announced back in February that he was leaving the show at the end of this season. Thanks to the pandemic, production was shut down and the fourth season ended early with three episodes left written but not shot. Showrunner and creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa assured us that season five will start with those final three episodes before moving on to a time jump that was originally planned for the season five opener.

So how does Ulrich fit into this? Both he and Marisol Nichols, who plays Veronica's mom Hermione Lodge, were slated to leave at the end of the season but have now agreed to finish up the last few episodes that were already planned. Once again, thanks to Aguirre-Sacasa, we also know that neither of them dies which is a relief. So why are they departing the Riverdale universe?

In his original statement back in February as to why he was leaving the show, Ulrich said, "I'm incredibly grateful for the friendships I've made on Riverdale. I will miss seeing everyone on a daily basis. I'm proud to have been part of such a talented group of people, in front of the camera and behind, but I've decided that it's time for me to move on to explore other creative opportunities."

He can't speak for Nichols, but Ulrich spoke for himself in an Instagram Live video earlier this week with his girlfriend (no, not fiance, despite what rumors you may have heard), model Megan Blake Irwin. He responded to a question that asked him honestly why he was leaving CW's hit show. His response? "I'm leaving Riverdale because I got bored creatively. How's that? That's the most honest answer."

Now we know why Ulrich is leaving Riverdale, and honestly, I can't say I blame him one bit; the adults on that show have been under-utilized in favor of all the rivers of teen drama they show instead (well, except for Betty's mom because she's always very much a part of the drama). With films coming out, it makes sense that Ulrich and Nichols would choose to focus their energy on projects that are more creatively fulfilling than just cropping up once every few episodes to tell off their on-screen children for doing something dumb. Whatever the future holds for him, I hope it's exciting and rewarding, but I selfishly hope we haven't seen the last of F.P. Jones on Riverdale, even if it's just a quick guest appearance.

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