As “Riverdale” heads into its Season 2 premiere, it may be hard for fans to picture it having a different cast, but that was almost the case.
Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty Cooper on the CW drama, told Coveteur that she was initially turned down for her role, as was K.J. Apa for Archie Andrews and Camila Mendes for Veronica Lodge.
“It did not fall into my lap, and I don’t want anyone to think that,” Reinhart said. “We all worked our asses off, and it was a nationwide search that took months and months of casting. I was lucky enough to be cast as one of them. I was told no at first, and so was Camila, and so was K.J.”
As for Season 2, Reinhart said that the series ups the pace, and viewers will “definitely see the wear and tear” on the characters as the action unfolds.
“I feel like we got our footing at the end of season one, and [now we] know what we are as a show, what we’re trying to do, what we’re trying to highlight, and we know our characters,” the actress said. “Now it’s basically full steam ahead. We’re treating it as a thriller. The stakes are even higher at this point, and there’s a lot more tension on every single character, although there [are] moments of fun and breaks from reality.”
“Riverdale” returns with Season 2 on Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW.