The CW’s Riverdale is a teen drama, mystery, and supernaturally inspired series that captured audiences for the first time back in Jan. 2017. It’s been quite a wild ride since, with each season producing something more intense and otherworldly than the last, ensuring that audiences never know what’s coming next.
Starring Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse, KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch, Casey Cott, Vanessa Morgan, and Charles Melton — to name a few — Riverdale isn’t just a wonderful watch. It’s entirely packed full of potential and star power, lending itself to fans everywhere who sit down to watch for entertainment value or an escape from reality. Riverdale is a town full of secrets, romance, joy, and darkness — and the town is almost as much a character as Jughead, Archie, or Betty.
If you’ve ever watched Riverdale and wondered where the series is set, you’re not alone. Riverdale is a fictional town, but fans have often wondered if it’s a specific location or what the inspiration for it might be. With high stakes, intoxicating characters, and a backdrop that’s as mysterious as it is entertaining, the setting for Riverdale is essential, and we’ve got you covered with the big information.
Where is Riverdale supposed to be?
The physical location of Riverdale is something fans speculate on, and while many agree it is somewhere in New York, there’s a cloak of mystery that surrounds the fictional town, and for good reason. The idea of a grey area plays into the drama surrounding not just the characters but the places they inhabit, the hangouts they frequent, and the magic they create.
A fan took to Reddit to go through the process of discovering where Riverdale was after a bit of mental trial and error, figuring out context clues, and paying close attention to everything said and unspoken about their specific small town.
The thing is, Riverdale’s location is supposed to be a bit obscure. Tying the town and the events happening there to one place takes away some of the mystery and twisted allure that it could be just like your city. It’s supposed to be relatable. Okay, so some things happening in Riverdale are entirely outlandish, but there’s a realm of ‘what-ifs’ that exist when audiences watch it. What if the characters in the hit series remind you of your own friends? What if one of them is quite similar to you? You can paint all of that in front of your own backdrop.
One thing fans know for sure is that the town is close to Greendale, the home of the characters from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic series, and they’re only separated by Sweetwater River.
So Riverdale’s exact location hasn’t been revealed and will likely never be. Taking away the mystery means putting pieces of a puzzle together that are meant to stay apart; it would be piecing together an image intended to be obscure. There’s a special kind of magic that gets lost if things become too evident.
Where is Riverdale filmed?
Riverdale’s location might be shrouded in secrecy, but the towns in which it is filmed are not. It is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. Within the series are real locations existing under a different name, like the famous Pop’s Chocklit Shop, which is actually Rocko’s Family Diner, and the school which is actually filmed in many locations, one of which is the Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver, as reported by PeerSpace.
If you’d like to take a swim instead or drudge up secrets the town tries to bury, you can visit the Golden Ears Provincial Park, which is where scenes at Sweetwater River are filmed.
What is Riverdale?
Riverdale is many things all at once, it’s magical and magnificent, relentless and ridiculous, and it’s the kind of series that grips you initially and keeps a hold of you no matter how many ups and downs you experience. Depending on what type of fan you speak with determines what response you’ll get, but some will say Riverdale is a favorite series of theirs, while others will say it jumped the shark seasons ago.
Riverdale began as a bit of an intriguing whodunit, with a group of friends (or frenemies) attempting to discover the truth behind a murder in their small town. What happens next is nearly impossible to explain; for many reasons. First things first — the characters are layered and multifaceted, the storyline definitely doesn’t follow one specific path, and the time jumps happen so quickly that you might feel like you’re experiencing whiplash.
With characters like Betty, Jughead, Archie, Veronica, and Reggie — fans can find a piece of themselves within any of the storylines being presented. It’s as much an experience as it is a watch, and it’s certainly enjoyable. You can watch Riverdale for the drama and romance of it all, for the chaos and high emotions, or simply because you need an escape from your own reality. No matter what, it’ll be incredible.
If you’re not big on kicking off a new series or can’t quite find the time — you can always read the Riverdale comics, and there’s a lot to unpack there. Here’s to more magic, intensity, and bizarre storylines, soon. You can catch up on all things Riverdale by streaming the series on Netflix or The CW and don’t forget that the series will soon be drawing to a close, so now is the perfect time to ensure you’re all caught up.