# Riverdale season 5
**Riverdale season 5** is the fifth season of [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s teen drama *Riverdale*, airing from January 20 to October 6, 2021 in 19 episodes of about 42 minutes each.[1](https://riverdale.fandom.com/wiki/Season_5_%28Riverdale%29) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/riverdale-2017/season-5) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/riverdale/season-5/) The season is defined by a seven-year time jump in its fourth episode, which moves [Archie Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/archie-andrews), Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and [Jughead Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/jughead-jones) from high school seniors into their mid-20s, and by the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the intended final three episodes of season 4 into the start of this season.[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/) • [5](https://www.tvline.com/recaps/riverdale-recap-season-5-episode-3-graduation-time-jump-1234635547/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | The CW; renewed January 7, 2020; premiered January 20, 2021; went on hiatus after "Chapter Eighty-Six: The Pincushion Man"[1](https://riverdale.fandom.com/wiki/Season_5_%28Riverdale%29) |
| Episodes | 19 episodes, about 42 minutes each[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/riverdale-2017/season-5) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/riverdale/season-5/) |
| Time jump | Seven years, in episode 4 ("Chapter Eighty: Purgatory", aired February 10, 2021), taking the characters from 18 to about 25[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/) |
| Pandemic effect | Production shut down in March 2020 with roughly two and a half episodes left in season 4; those episodes opened season 5 as prom and graduation installments[6](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-season-5-time-jump-7-years-lili-reinhart-adults-production-resuming/) • [5](https://www.tvline.com/recaps/riverdale-recap-season-5-episode-3-graduation-time-jump-1234635547/) |
| Critical scores | 78% Tomatometer from 9 reviews and 37% Popcornmeter from 250+ audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05) |
| Ratings | Premiere: 0.39 rating among adults 18-49 and 1.175 million viewers (Live +7); the time-jump episode scored 0.40 and 1.029 million[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/) |
| Availability | Streaming on Netflix (including the ad-supported tier), or purchase on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/riverdale-2017/season-5) |
## Production context and the pandemic
The season was renewed on January 7, 2020, and began airing on January 20, 2021.[1](https://riverdale.fandom.com/wiki/Season_5_%28Riverdale%29) Production had shut down in March 2020 with about two and a half episodes left to shoot for season 4, leaving the characters short of their high school milestones of prom and graduation.[6](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-season-5-time-jump-7-years-lili-reinhart-adults-production-resuming/) Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the series' creator, decided that rather than skipping those rites of passage, the show would open season 5 with what would have been the last three episodes of season 4 and let them carry the story to the time jump.[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/)
**The graduation episodes.** Episode 3, "Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation", was originally slated as the season 4 finale before the pandemic shut down production.[5](https://www.tvline.com/recaps/riverdale-recap-season-5-episode-3-graduation-time-jump-1234635547/) In it, Archie learns he cannot graduate with his classmates and must repeat his senior year; he instead signs up with Army recruiters. The gang buries a time capsule and vows to reunite at Pop's every year, but Jughead arrives alone; he narrates that it would be six years before he saw his friends again.[5](https://www.tvline.com/recaps/riverdale-recap-season-5-episode-3-graduation-time-jump-1234635547/)
## The seven-year time jump
Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed early that season 5 would contain a significant time jump, and actress [Lili Reinhart](https://www.edgepedia.org/lili-reinhart) announced on *The Tonight Show* that it would span seven years, skipping college entirely and landing the core characters in their mid-20s.[8](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2020/05/14/Riverdale-creator-confirms-Season-5-time-jump/4461589472854/) • [6](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-season-5-time-jump-7-years-lili-reinhart-adults-production-resuming/) The jump occurs in episode 4, "Chapter Eighty: Purgatory", aired February 10, 2021, in which Archie returns after seven years away to find Riverdale on the verge of becoming a ghost town and reaches out to the rest of the gang to come home.[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05)
Aguirre-Sacasa told TVLine that the reset let the writers place the characters "in completely different places and playing different dynamics"; the writers had also considered a smaller college-set jump and a full genre shift into horror before settling on the seven-year leap.[9](https://www.tvline.com/previews/riverdale-spoilers-time-jump-season-5-betty-jughead-1234637844/) The post-jump status of the main characters, as reported at the time, included Archie back in Riverdale, Betty working with the FBI, Veronica married to a new husband, Jughead a struggling novelist in New York City, and Cheryl and Toni broken up, with a pregnant Toni planning to raise her baby with Kevin and Fangs.[10](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-time-jump-archie-army-betty-fbi-veronica-married-jughead-cheryl-toni-pregnant/) • [9](https://www.tvline.com/previews/riverdale-spoilers-time-jump-season-5-betty-jughead-1234637844/) • [15](https://www.capitalfm.com/news/tv-film/time-jump-season-5-episode-4-recap/)
**Veronica's husband.** After the jump, [Veronica Lodge](https://www.edgepedia.org/veronica-lodge) is married not to Archie but to Chad Gekko, played by Chris Mason; Aguirre-Sacasa described Chad as "definitely an antagonist this season" and "a thorn in Veronica's side, and Archie's, and many other people's sides as well".[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/981669/riverdale-season-5-veronica-husband-chad-gekko-chris-mason/) • [9](https://www.tvline.com/previews/riverdale-spoilers-time-jump-season-5-betty-jughead-1234637844/)
## Storylines after the jump
The back half of the season moved through a series of shorter plots: the death of Polly Cooper and its aftermath, Veronica's successive business ventures, Jughead's involvement in the town's newspaper scene, and [Cheryl Blossom](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheryl-blossom)'s ministry.[12](https://www.avclub.com/the-forces-of-good-retake-the-town-as-riverdale-ties-up-1847814677) Archie campaigns to reform the town's government, eventually proposing a mayor-free council of four, while [Hiram Lodge](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiram-lodge) remains a persistent threat.[12](https://www.avclub.com/the-forces-of-good-retake-the-town-as-riverdale-ties-up-1847814677)
**Gothic elements.** Academic commentary on the season highlights the "Lonely Highway" as a constructed Gothic space, and reads the post-jump Riverdale, literally and metaphorically decaying, as reflecting anxieties that the suburbs are no longer a place where the [American Dream](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-dream) is achievable.[13](https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/7c0d4cbe-4f23-47d8-ade7-1bab107163b3/content) In the finale, Cheryl excavating the family palladium mines discovers human remains and a portal to a flashback in which her ancestor Abigail is burned at the stake; the invoked curse afflicting Jughead, Betty, and Archie sets up season 6's five-episode event premiere.[12](https://www.avclub.com/the-forces-of-good-retake-the-town-as-riverdale-ties-up-1847814677)
The season concluded on October 6, 2021 with "Chapter Ninety-Five: RIVERDALE: RIP (?)".[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/riverdale/season-5/)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 78% Tomatometer from 9 critics and a 37% Popcornmeter score from more than 250 audience ratings.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05) Early reviews were mixed to positive: Charles Bramesco of The A.V. Club gave the premiere a B, writing that "Chapter Seventy-Seven" challenges the main romantic relationships while keeping warmth for loyal viewers, and Nick Spacek of *Starburst* gave it 3/5, praising the writers for wrapping up the past season properly rather than compressing it into a coda.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05) Retrospective criticism was harsher: Culturess's October 2021 review called the season "several episodes worth of wasted potential" whose storylines felt disconnected from the finale's result.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05) [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s finale review graded the episode C-minus and described the back half as having "shuffled through a handful of largely tedious mini-plots", though it called the curse setup a promising direction for season 6.[12](https://www.avclub.com/the-forces-of-good-retake-the-town-as-riverdale-ties-up-1847814677)
**Ratings.** The premiere drew a 0.39 rating among adults 18-49 and 1.175 million total viewers with a week of delayed viewing; the February 10 time-jump episode was the season's highest-rated at 0.40 with 1.029 million viewers. Episodes 501-503 averaged 1.059 million viewers against 1.052 million for episodes 505-507, so the post-jump episodes held their audience in the demo and lost only about 7,000 viewers overall, at a point in the season when decline is typical.[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/) The show then went on hiatus until a July return, its slot taken by *Kung Fu*.[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/)
## Cast
The season stars K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as [Betty Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-cooper), Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, and [Vanessa Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-morgan) as Toni Topaz.[4](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/) • [14](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/1/29/riverdale-season-5-premiere-review/) Chris Mason joined as Chad Gekko, Veronica's husband, in a recurring role.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/981669/riverdale-season-5-veronica-husband-chad-gekko-chris-mason/) Season 5 directors listed by Rotten Tomatoes include Gabriel Correa, Robin Givens, Steve Adelson, and [Mädchen Amick](https://www.edgepedia.org/madchen-amick).[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05)
## References
1. [Season 5 (Riverdale), Archieverse Wiki](https://riverdale.fandom.com/wiki/Season_5_%28Riverdale%29)
2. [Riverdale Season 5 streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/riverdale-2017/season-5)
3. [Riverdale Season 5, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/riverdale/season-5/)
4. [Has 'Riverdale' Held Up in the Ratings Since the Big Time Jump?, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-new-episodes-time-jump-ratings-season-5-hiatus/)
5. [Riverdale Recap: Season 5, Episode 3 — Graduation, Time Jump, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/recaps/riverdale-recap-season-5-episode-3-graduation-time-jump-1234635547/)
6. [Lili Reinhart Says 'Riverdale' Season 5's Time Jump Will Be 7 Years in the Future, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-season-5-time-jump-7-years-lili-reinhart-adults-production-resuming/)
7. [Riverdale: Season 5, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/riverdale/s05)
8. [Riverdale creator confirms Season 5 time jump, UPI](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2020/05/14/Riverdale-creator-confirms-Season-5-time-jump/4461589472854/)
9. [Riverdale Boss Teases Time Jump's 'Different Dynamics', TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/previews/riverdale-spoilers-time-jump-season-5-betty-jughead-1234637844/)
10. [How Each 'Riverdale' Character Ended Up Where They Are in 7-Year Time Jump, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/riverdale-time-jump-archie-army-betty-fbi-veronica-married-jughead-cheryl-toni-pregnant/)
11. [Riverdale Adds Recurring Character for Post-Time Jump, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/981669/riverdale-season-5-veronica-husband-chad-gekko-chris-mason/)
12. [The forces of good retake the town as Riverdale ties up a lackluster season, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/the-forces-of-good-retake-the-town-as-riverdale-ties-up-1847814677)
13. [A Teenage Gothic American Dream, AUT Open Repository](https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/7c0d4cbe-4f23-47d8-ade7-1bab107163b3/content)
14. [Riverdale Premiere Review, The Harvard Crimson](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/1/29/riverdale-season-5-premiere-review/)
15. [Here's what happens to the Riverdale characters after the 7-year time jump](https://www.capitalfm.com/news/tv-film/time-jump-season-5-episode-4-recap/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Screen seasons › American scripted drama series seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license