Riverdale Is Finally Returning And The New Promo Is Full Of Spoilers

Season 5 of Riverdale has been a lot for viewers to process. From a time jump to aliens to the most epic shower hookup scene ever, it’s clear the writers were pulling out all the stops when it came to the first 10 episodes. Unfortunately, fans were left hanging after the March 31 installment, as production took a long hiatus. But luckily, the Riverdale Season 5, Episode 11 promo makes it clear the second half of the season will be well worth the wait.

In case you need a refresher since it’s been a minute, fans last saw the Core Four after the highly anticipated seven-year time jump. The drama-loving teens were officially drama-loving young adults who were dealing with things like jobs, love triangles, and, of course, a ton of mysterious threats including the Trash Bag Killer, the Lonely Highway, and the Mothman. After being separated by post-high school life for a while, Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Betty all came back to Riverdale High as teachers, Barchie had a brief moment (and a few sex scenes), and Cheryl got a new potential S.O.

While a lot went down in the first half of Season 5, there's still so much the season has to wrap up. Ahead of the season’s return, here’s a look at what’s next for the citizens of Riverdale.

Let’s recap: Jughead appears to have gone over to the dark side, Cheryl and her mother started a ministry, Josie and the Pussycats are back, and Betty looks super sinister with a chainsaw after her mom says she should “just kill him.” (Who “him” is, I don’t know, but honestly, things don’t look great for him.) Needless to say, there’s a whole lotta Riverdale drama on the horizon.

If you’re wondering why it took so long to get new episodes, it’s important to note a mid-season break actually isn't uncommon for shows. Riverdale usually has one that spans about a month. This is because the show normally premieres in October, so the break falls during the end of the year, when cheesy holiday movies and ugly sweater parties are dominating the social scene. Since the coronavirus pandemic pushed the Season 5 release date to early 2021, however, the break got pushed as well. And because the bad news got even worse with COVID cases on the rise, the usual month-long hiatus was extended to four very long, very Riverdale-less months.

While Episode 11 was originally scheduled to drop in early July, on April 29, TV Line reported the return date was delayed even further. Thankfully, the Aug. 11 mid-season premiere date is now right around the corner, and the first look at the second half of the season proves there’s still a lot of story left to tell in Season 5.

Season 5 of Riveredale will return on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.