The Twin Peaks influences are most compelling: in style, color, tone, score and even plot, the Riverdale pilot brings to mind the first episode of Twin Peaks with great clarity. Riverdale is a tiny, stylish community with eye-catching landmarks: The Bijou theater, MLJ comics shop (a nod to MLJ Magazines, the company that founded Archie Comics), Pop Tate's Choklit Shoppe, a retro diner lifted directly from the pages of the comics. Everything looks atmospheric and alluring; the colors are cool blues and greys interspersed with bright pops of color. And, in a manner deliberately reminiscent of Twin Peaks, a dead body even washes ashore in the first hour of the series.
Yes, the first season of Riverdale will be a murder mystery - who killed Jason Blossom, the twin brother to Queen B Mean Girl Cheryl Blossom? In a breathtaking segment opening the episode, he and Cheryl take a canoe out on the river, but only Cheryl returns. The creepy parts of Riverdale are legitimately creepy, and when we see Jason's dead body in the final moments before the credits, it's a pretty gnarly reveal. There's plenty of mystery surrounding the Blossoms, but most of the adult characters are nestled in intrigue, as well: Twin Peaks' Mädchen Amick plays Betty's mother Alice, who has a deep, fiery loathing for the Blossom siblings. Luke Perry is Archie's father Fred, who has a romantic past with Veronica's mother Hermione, played by Marisol Nichols.
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