During Riverdale‘s San Diego Comic-Con panel on Sunday, executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed that the season 4 premiere will feature a special tribute to Luke Perry. Perry, who was on the show for three seasons, died in March. Additionally, it was revealed that Perry’s friend and former Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Shannen Doherty will guest star in a “special role” in the episode, which is titled “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam.”
According to Aguirre-Sacasa, he and Perry had been planning to have Doherty on the show for years, saying it was “something that Luke wanted to happen since season one.” Aguirre-Sacasa continued, “They were such good friends, and when we were putting together this tribute episode, we wanted to make it as special as possible, and so we asked Shannen to do a pivotal, super emotional role. She read the script and immediately said ‘yes.’ It’s very impactful.”
Doherty expanded on the news, in a touching Instagram post.
“I am deeply honored to pay tribute to Luke on Riverdale. The care in which this show takes in honoring his memory is beautiful,” Doherty wrote. “He is missed. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.”
In more panel news, it was announced that Kerr Smith (The Fosters) will play Riverdale High’s new principal, Mr. Honey, in a recurring role. Aguirre-Sacasa described the character as “a bit of a hard-ass who takes a harder line with the students this year, especially with the seniors.” Smith will first appear in the second episode of season 4.
Riverdale returns Wednesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
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