As fans know, on March 11, news first hit the web that production on Riverdale had been suspended after a “team member” had come in contact with the coronavirus. For those who missed it, over 2,750,000 people have contracted the virus so far, resulting in more than 190,000 deaths. Medical professionals have called for “social distancing” to prevent further spreading of the illness, which is defined as “trying to keep yourself away from other people, especially large crowds.” Because of this many events, concerts, award shows, conventions and festivals have been canceled, including all Broadway plays and sports games. People are urged to stay indoors, avoid public places and isolate themselves during this time.

“The health and safety of our employees, casts and crews is always our top priority,” Warner Bros. Television said in a statement released at the time. “We have and will continue to take precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world. Out of an abundance of caution, production on Riverdale is currently suspended.”

Since the announcement first hit the web, fans have been wondering what that meant for the rest of Season 4, since they hadn’t finished filming it before production was put on hold. So will there be a finale? Will the season be cut short? Well, not to worry, because we’ve got you covered! We did some investigating, and it turns out, since it’s unclear when production will be able to pickup again, fans can expect Season 4 to unfortunately be cut short. This was recently confirmed by one of the show’s writers via Twitter.

“The pandemic derailed production and there was a heavy Toni [episode] coming up. We’ll still do it, but you’ll have to now wait for Season 5 instead of Season 4. Season 4 is unfortunately now shorter, ending [with episode 19] But it has a fun cliffhanger!” Ted Sullivan wrote in response to a fan who asked about the future of the show. 

So there you have it, Riverdale, which, according to TVGuide, was supposed to have 22 episodes this season, will now end after 19. The publication also reported that the makeshift season finale will be titled “Killing Mr. Honey,” and is set to “follow a revenge fantasy Jughead has for Mr. Honey that he’s submitting as a story to the University of Iowa. The undoubtedly gruesome tale will detail how the new principal has ruined senior year for the core four and all of their friends.”

So mark your calendars, people, because the finale will hit the air on Wednesday, May 6 at 8 P.M. on the CW.

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