Entertainment

Molly Ringwald Is Coming To 'Riverdale'

by Allie Gemmill
Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

One mystery is set to get solved sooner rather than later on Riverdale and, boy oh boy, is it going to be a heck of a reveal. Video footage of Molly Ringwald as Archie's mom on Riverdale dropped at WonderCon on Friday and while it's only a quick reveal, it's clear casting Ringwald couldn't have been more perfect a choice. While the footage of Mary Andrews, Archie's mom, doesn't last that long, we do get a decent sense of how Archie feels about seeing his mom again. Fans also get to celebrate Ringwald's big return to television as she hasn't appeared on a major television show since The Secret Life of the American Teenager went off the air in 2013.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the clip of Mary Andrews from the WonderCon footage reveals that she walks into what appears to be the Andrews home with Fred at her side. As Archie turns around, he says in near-disbelief, "Mom?" and Mary simply replies, "Hi, honey." But rather than running to his mom to hug her, Archie is frozen in place as some creepy non-diegetic music plays over the scene.

This clip reveals quite a lot about Archie's relationship with his mom. While Fred has lamented in previous episodes that one great irony in his life is being a man who builds things but he "couldn't build a family," but if you've been paying attention, you'll know that it was Mary who chose to leave two years before Riverdale begins in order to follow her dreams (whatever they may be). It clear that Archie and Mary need to talk out some major feelings before he warms up to her.

Ringwald's Riverdale casting is yet another bit of nostalgia-filled choice that the show has made. While the teens of Riverdale — aside from Cole Sprouse — are relatively fresh faces to the biz, many actors in the adult cast of Riverdale come from hit '80s & '90s TV shows and films. Mädchen Amick (as Alice Cooper) is best known from her Twin Peaks days; Luke Perry (who plays Fred Andrews) is of course remembered for his role in Beverly Hills 90210; Robin Givens ( as Josie's mom and Riverdale mayor Sierra McCoy) was beloved for her role in Head of the Class. Casting Ringwald alongside these other famously-nostalgic adults is legit pitch-perfect.

If having Ringwald, in all her eternal Pretty In Pink and The Breakfast Club fame, doesn't get you stoked, then I hope you at least get hyped for the fact that another Riverdale mystery is about to get solved. Welcome home, Mary Andrews.