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CW's Riverdale To Be Soapy With Twin Peaks and Gilmore Girls Influences!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/CW

Courtesy/CW

When The CW’s new series Riverdale bows in 2017, it will have a much darker feel to it for the comic book characters readers have fallen in love with!  And according to TV Line, the Greg Berlanti series will be much soapier, too!

New Zealand actor KJ Apa takes on the lead role of Archie Andrews.  And when the cast which includes 90210’s Luke Perry as Archie’s father, and executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, sat down for an interview at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, they explained that while the series holds “classic coming-of-age stories that you’ve known from 75 years of Archie Comics,” that is also will “explore the secret life of all of these character that you thought you knew.”

There is a murder and a new girl in town in the story too, more reminiscent of Twin Peaks and Gilmore Girls as well!  EP Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa previewed, “The last day of a summer a mysterious girl arrives to Riverdale, Veronica Lodge, and a scandal is following behind her and she kind of walks into Pop’s famous diner in Riverdale right in the middle of a possible date between the characters of Archie and Betty.  So, the love triangle starts there.  While that is happening, over the summer one of the high school kids – this golden boy named Jason Blossom – drowned under mysterious circumstances,and you soon realize everyone is caught up in this mystery.  We used Twin Peaks as a bit of inspiration!”

Watch a promo for CW’s upcoming Riverdale after the jump! Then let us know if this soapy drama has got your interest piqued in the comment section below!

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It looks interesting but i tire easily of characters who cheat and lust after each other…the murder mystery might hold my interest but nothing beats the mysteries and crime drama on Edge Of Night!

You are so right, Jim!

Confused is this a dark side to Archie don’t even remember this comics but. Know I read them just forgot .

Qubo the television station has the Archie mysteries from the 90’s..I found that weird but I liked it. .plus the trailer of the show reminds me of the CW’s One Tree Hill. .I think it will be good. .

Growing up in the heart of the 60’s and 70’s The Archies was a Saturday morning fave..my mom even bought us the boxes of cereal where you could cut out the record and play it. We had a Close and Play record player and played “Sugar Sugar” till it broke lol…”you were my candy girllll”…

oooooo that trailer…oooooo that Archie…lol…bring it on

got that off a cereal box too!!!

It was the best if times..it was the best of daytime jimh.. Hope all is well with you.. As we get older I know that day to day grind lol..

Of

Its funny, name brand cereals get more and more expensive and you get less cereal, no prizes and the back of the boxes are usually non-eventful! I also cut out a record from the back of the box. It could have been “Sugar Sugar.” Perfect song for a box of “Honeycombs” laced with a ton of sugar!

LOL Timmm I’m sure there’s a melancholy smile of nostalgia somewhere within your reply (:

Why ddoes everything have to be dark? I have waited YEARS for there to be a live action show or feature film about Archie and the gang. They are taking the most wholesome piece of Americana and adding murder and stuff? I am not saying the series has to be as feel good as the 50’s comics! But it would be very cool to see that as a feel good show…either set in a more innocent era, or even set in the present seeing the characters use current technology etc. While I am glad that someone finally had the thought to do a show based on Archie, but we have enough grim, dark, morbid programing out there. Whats weong with a little happiness?

This trailer doesn’t seem anything like the Archie series at all. It seems like they took an * idea* for a series they wanted and plugged in Archie characters to …try and draw in Archie fans and have a built in audience.
Whatever they do with this series in this vein, it isn’t the
Archies. Sorry, producers. You may have a success, but no-go on the appropriation.

It looks HORRIBLE!

You are right too much darkness in everything!!!

Agree. Big time.

The comics recently had a alternate universe comic book storyline where Archie’s life came to an end when he took a bullet that was meant for his friend who was gay so such material can go pretty dark. The twist of the story was that the alternate universe is actually split into two, where Archie is married to either Betty in one world and or Veronica in another, but the stories of both sub-universes run concurrently, essentially the same except for certain scenarios involving Betty or Veronica.

I’d rather see them make a live action version of Afterlife with Archie,where Riverdale is overrun by a zombie apocalypse.

I will give it a try but I will probably hate it! Archie is supposed to be light and fluffy. I’m tired of these remakes that are NOTHING like the originals! So tired of everything so dark and gloomy!

Most remakes are horrible…like that Bewitched movie years ago-Nicole Kidman was the perfect choice to play Samantha but the movie was lame and nothing like the tv show…watch-they will do Eight Is Enough as a movie-instead of being about a couple with 8 children they will instead have Mr. Bradford as a bigamist married to 8 wives!-lol

Jim, I loved Bewitched! When I heard they were doing the movie I would have loved Jim Carrey to play Darren. Jim looks like Dick York in a way. Well, it didnt come to fruition and they went with you know who. Nicole is beautiful but not house wifey enough. Ferrel is still popular but way off for Darwood! A big let down!

Your right, it will be “Eight Desperate Housewives are Enough!”

Eight Desperate Housewives are Enough-funny-love it!!!

Who wants to see bug Ethel jug head and moose running all over the place being goofy..I prefer this to a flat out comic book come to life..those. Never end well as series..except on bygone Saturday mornings

Big Ethel lol I said bug

Great minds think alike…i thought Jim Carey as Darren too…also wanted Nathan Lane as Uncle Arthur and Betty White as Aunt Clara..also wanted that neighbor lady on Mama’s Family to play Gladys-the nosey neighbor!!!

Nathan Lane would have been great!

I replied to myself instead of you…if it appears its below your reply to me!!!

OK-
what are ”Archie Comics” ??

Su0000 no one on this earth is as seemingly disconnected as you lol…but it is 2016 and I suppose our youth are quite out the loop..you managed to find soaps..go to a comic store..Google nostalgic comic book characters…

‘Jason Blossom’…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Whatever. Next……….

Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)

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Ambyr Michelle

Soap opera fans are always clamoring for when Dancing with the Stars reveals their cast each season, that they would include a familiar face from daytime drama, but it rarely happens, if ever, anymore.

Over the last several years, the series has leaned heavily into casting celebrities with massive TikTok or Instagram followers, which in turn, have helped this season and last have their best ratings numbers in years.

But, how about for next season’s cast of Dancing with the Stars, that it could include newly-awarded Daytime Emmy winner, Ambyr Michelle (Eva Thomas) of Beyond the Gates?

Ambyr Michelle

Photo: CBS

LOVE OF DANCE TO LOVE OF ACTING

Michael Fairman TV spoke to Michelle about her dance background and if she would love a shot at lifting the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during Wednesday’s November 11, livestream chat on the Michael Fairman Channel.

Ambyr explained to fans (who joined in on the live chat), how she began her show business career. “I started off as a dancer, first and foremost. Acting wasn’t really something I wanted to go after. I did plays when I was younger, but it was just something we did in school, but I really wanted to be a dancer. I moved out to LA to dance, and I fell out of love with dance, which was so weird.”

This year’s Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series winner, added, “I was like, ‘What is going on?’ I moved all the way out here for dance. I found I was forcing myself to go to dance class, and I just didn’t have the passion for it. I was working at this restaurant at the time, and one of my coworker was like, ‘What about taking an acting class out here?'”

Next, Ambyr took the coworker up on the idea. “So, I took an acting class and I fell in love with it that day,” shared Michelle. “I was like, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’ I thought, I would love to book a role, of course, as a dancer, but I think acting has a little bit more longevity.”

Photo: ABC

A SHOT AT THE LEN GOODMAN MIRRORBALL TROPHY

When the talked turned to if Ambyr would consider or be interested in appearing on the ballroom dance competition series, she piped up with, “I would love to do Dancing with the Stars! Pick me!”

As those in the live chat rallied around this idea, it made us think, Ambyr could be the first contestant from Beyond the Gates, and someone representing the soaps. It checks off so many boxes! To which Ambyr replied, “That would be beautiful.”

You can check out the full conversation with Ambyr below.

So, what do you think soap fans? Can we make sure Ambyr’s name gets in front of the producers and casting director for next season’s Dancing with the Stars? Would you like to see her in the competition? If so, who would be your dream pro professional dance partner for her? Let us know in the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.

According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.

Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS

MORE BY THE NUMBERS

In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .

BEYOND THE GATES

Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:

Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:

Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.

Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.

Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.

Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a  benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.

So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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