Posted in: CW, Preview, Riverdale, streaming, TV | Tagged: archie, betty, birthday, bleeding cool, Bughead, cable, Camila Mendes, cole sprouse, Drew Ray Tanner, lili reinhart, Madelaine Petsch, preview, riverdale, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, sabrina, season 5, streaming, television, the cw, tv, veronica

Riverdale Team Celebrate Lili Reinhart B-Day, Season 5 Filming Start

Enough with the table reads, teases, and talk of time jumps, Riverdale series creator and executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa gave fans what they wanted late Sunday night. After sharing the script cover pages (with ep titles, writers, directors, etc.) last week and sharing the news that Zoom table reads were already in play, Aguirre-Sacasa took to Instagram to let fans know that the long-running CW series begin filming the fifth season on Monday- and he wasn't alone. Having made it through quarantine and spending the night in the bubble, Aguirre-Sacasa was joined by Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch, Cole Sprouse, and Drew Ray Tanner in celebrating Lili Reinhart's birthday that same night (so twice the reason to celebrate).

Here's a look at Aguirre-Sacasa post, followed by a post from Petsch that finds a fun way to combine social distancing, birthday celebrations, and dog-walking (a pretty impressive feat of multi-tasking):

Shifting over into the world of "What If…?", Aguirre-Sacasa posted an illustrated image in July of the gang from Riverdale and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina crew with the teaser line, "The Witches of 'Riverdale' Are Coming…" after it was announced CAOS would not be returning to Netflix after its remaining episodes. In case you were wondering how it was going to be, well, let's just say he wasn't subtle when he writes, "'Witch War' would've been AMAZING." A consolation? Looks like the storyline will be making its way to the comics world.

Fans of CAOS know that the seeds of a Riverdale crossover were already bearing fruit during Part 3. Here's a look at two huge Riverdale/CAOS crossover threads from the previous season – as well as The CW series' "response" with a CAOS character who's already made the leap:

"Chapter Twenty-Three: Heavy is the Crown"

(Director: Rob Seidenglanz/ Writer: Oahn Ly)

First, let's take a look at that sign (above) that Sabrina and Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) pass as they look to retrieve the crown of Herod. "Murder Capital of the World" is a clear reference to the town of Riverdale's infamous nickname, and the "JJ Wuz Here" is clearly cornball enough to be Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse). So Sabrina and Ambrose actually enter Riverdale – well, at least the wooded area just inside the border so that counts… right? As for the artifact they're looking to retrieve? Previously in the possession of a Benjamin Blossom – a name shared by a certain Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch). Considering Cheryl's supernatural-tinged lineage – and the fact that the crown was retrieved from a maple tree – it's safe to assume that Greendale isn't the only town whose foundations are tainted by the supernatural.

"Chapter Twenty-Six: All of Them Witches"

(Director: Michael Goi / Writer: Joshua Conkel)

When Circe hits Hilda (Lucy Davis) with a spell that brings out her inner-spider in ways none of us (especially Hilda) wanted, she visits Dr. Cee (Alessandro Juliani). Hungry, she asks him to run out to a diner in Riverdale that has "the juiciest hamburgers and thickets milkshakes" – clearly, a reference to Pop's Chock'Lit Shoppe. To drive home the point even further, Hilda's spider cravings create an appetizer in the form of a Southside Serpents member (the Sharks/Jets-like gang from Riverdale) – who picked a very bad time to need a new book.

"Riverdale" season 4, episode 10 "Chapter Sixty-Seven: Varsity Blues"

(Director: Roxanne Benjamin / Writer: Aaron Allen)

Meanwhile… Betty's (Lili Reinhart) investigating accusations of Stonewall Prep football players intentionally hurting opposing players, so she interviews a number of players from other schools for more info. One of those players? Baxter High Ravens' Billy (Ty Wood), Theo's (Lachlan Watson) ex-bully (after Hilda got her hands on him), and a member of a team known to be sports rivals of the Riverdale Bulldogs.

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