‘Riverdale’: Timothy Webber Cast As Jughead’s Grandfather, Forsythe Pendleton Jones I [Exclusive]

In the last episode of Riverdale, FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) casually dropped a huge piece of info on his son, Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) as the latter prepared to head to the new, elite private school Stonewall Prep: Jughead’s grandfather, Forsythe Pendleton Jones I, had previously, briefly attended the school as well. And now Decider can exclusively reveal who will play FP’s long-missing Dad when he turns up on the CW drama… Timothy Webber (Once Upon a Time, Loudermilk) has been officially cast as Forsythe Pendleton Jones I.

Though time is a, shall we say, purposefully murky concept when it comes to Riverdale, FP’s Dad seemed to be long gone, and most likely dead. When previously mentioned on the series, FP noted that his father “quitted everything, including me. Went out for a pack of smokes and he never came back.” FP also opined on his fiftieth birthday that he always expected he would get himself killed, or drink “myself to death, like my old man.”

As they say, FP’s reports of his father’s death have been greatly exaggerated, and in fact Forsythe Pendleton Jones I will be teased throughout the first half of the season, before officially turning up in Season 4’s ninth episode, the midseason finale.

Here’s the official casting notice from Warner Bros./The CW, with a lot more info on what’s about to go down:

Timothy Webber has been cast as Forsythe Pendleton Jones I. He’s your basic grizzled hermit who lives alone in the woods. Jughead’s grandfather, Forsythe is the family patriarch –but he’s ashamed of himself, riddled with guilt over his lack of achievement and his descent into the bottle. When Jughead shows up on his doorstep, Forsythe invites him in to discuss his long-ago involvement with the Baxter Brothers franchise.

Lots to unpack there, but beyond being not-dead, this illuminates a bit more about Ulrich’s mysterious note back at New York Comic Con that when it comes to FP’s father, the “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” When we first met FP on Riverdale, he was a drop down drunk and absent Dad, more concerned with his gang the Southside Serpents than his own son — or daughter and wife, who had left town before the show even started.

And it’s also clear that despite FPJ1’s short time at Stonewall Prep, he knows a lot more than FP was letting on. What is the Baxter Brothers franchise, and how does it tie in (or not) to the overall mystery that will find Jughead in seriously dire straits by the time the midseason finale is over? Fans of the Archie-verse shows will also definitely want to note that Baxter High is the name of the high school over on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina… Is there a tie-in there? Or is it just a classic Riverdale riff on a store, like Brooks Brothers? Maybe Jughead wants to ask Forsythe where he gets his snappy clothes from? Yeah, that’s probably it. The clothes thing.

Webber has been acting on screen for over four decades, though fans may know him best for his role as The Apprentice (as in, of The Sorcerer) on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. He also appeared as Ed on Loudermilk, Jimmy on A Series of Unfortunate Events, and  Russ and Ted Holstrom on The Exorcist TV series. He is represented by King Talent Inc.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Where to watch Riverdale