‘Katy Keene’ Review: What Happens After The Musical Ends?

The CW’s Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene is The Walking Dead, but for musicals.

…which is a statement that probably requires a little further explanation (it’s also a compliment, by the way), because the Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Michael Grassi created series has no zombies, and is about as far from the gritty, grim realism of The Walking Dead as you can get. But based on the first three episodes of the series, which were provided for review by The CW, it’s clear that they both have a similar question on their mind: what’s next?

I previously reviewed the pilot episode of Katy Keene back when it screened at the Tribeca TV Festival, and found it to be a frothy New York musical romantic comedy that ably mixes SMASH, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and A Chorus Line (among many other influences) together to make something that’s as refreshingly cheery as its parent show Riverdale is often dark. This is a New York that’s devoid of murder and crime, and instead full of hopin’ and wishin’ and dreamin’. Basically, any musical you can imagine, all at the same time; and it is a delightful confection that will brighten up your TV with joy.

The next two episodes make it a little clearer what’s on Aguirre-Sacasa and Grassi’s minds, though, and is also where The Walking Dead comparisons come in. That franchise, created by comic book writer Robert Kirkman, famously began with one question: at the end of a zombie movie, what’s next? They’ve survived the mall, or the island, or whatever location and now they head off into the distance… But the zombie apocalypse keeps going. Katy Keene posits a similar question, what happens after the end of the musical? Does the music keep playing? Once that question has popped, that record contract been won, the dream job obtained… What’s next?

The series starts to explore those questions in varying ways over the course of the series (it premieres February 6 at 8/7c), thanks to a game cast led by Lucy Hale as Katy Keene. The aspiring fashionista is drudging away as the best, most knowledgable part of a team of personal shoppers at Lacy’s (the show’s stand-in for Macy’s) — though it’s clear her real talents lie in fashion design. Hale, as noted by a good chunk of Twitter thanks to her New Year’s Eve hosting duties, is all red lips and big, wide eyes; perhaps distracting on a live, Time’s Square broadcast, but perfect for a fictional musical heroine. She’s got cheer, moxie, whatever you want to call it, and though that good nature is challenged in the first few episodes, her never-give-up attitude always powers through. Hale is more than game for this, and she lights up every scene she’s in — which is most of them.

The musical duties, though, are left to Riverdale veteran Ashleigh Murray, who returns as the insanely vocally gifted Josie McCoy. She might not be the title character, but hers is the clearest musical through-line. Fresh off the bus after touring with her similarly musical father (this show takes place about five-ish years down the timeline from Riverdale), she almost immediately stumbles into the recording career she’s always believed she’s deserved; though of course it has its own complications. Josie has always been one of the most fascinating characters on Riverdale, and freed from being sidelined in favor of that show’s murder-y plots, Murray finally gets to soar. She’s always had a stunning singing voice, but Katy Keene is the first time we’ve gotten to really see the drive and power of Josie in full effect, and it’s a beautiful thing to behold.

There’s your fashion and a singing career taken care of, but you can’t have a musical without Broadway aspirations. That’s left to Jonny Beauchamp as Jorge Lopez, a.k.a. Ginger Lopez. Though Katy is the one who brings the group together, it’s Jorge/Ginger who provides the glue… It’s clear by episode two this is a cast that adores each other, and Beauchamp’s naturalistic performance (it’s entirely possible he may know something about struggling away in an acting career before making your big break, just spitballing) is clearly delighting everyone else on screen. Like Josie, Jorge’s Broadway dreams wouldn’t work if he didn’t have the dance and singing aptitude to make it seem possible. Happily, Beauchamp does, and then some.

Last, but not least is Julia Chan as Pepper Smith, a mover and shaker who knows everyone yet inexplicably hangs out with three struggling artists in their apartment all day and night. She doesn’t get a lot to do in the first episode, but by episode two her plotline is off and running — and if you suspect that she’s not quite on the level, you’d be right. She also gets some assistance from a delightful guest star in musical veteran Bernadette Peters, who plays her mentor; and be episode three, you’ll be as enamored with Pepper as the rest of the cast.

There are other characters in Katy’s orbit, most importantly the sneakily hilarious Zane Holtz as her boxing boyfriend KO Kelly; Lucien Laviscount as aspiring record producer and Josie’s hot love interest, Alexander Cabot; potential villain breakout Camille Hyde as his devious sister, Alexandra Cabot; and Katherine LaNasa as the HBIC of Lacy’s personal shopping department, Gloria Grandbilt, who is basically Miranda Priestly reborn.

The smartest decision the behind-the-scenes team makes, though, is taking these disparate storylines and giving them an anchor point in Katy’s apartment. Unlike Riverdale, which often feels like four or five out of control trains running in different directions, the main cast meets at least once or twice per episode to share some Chinese food or drinks, and help each other make big decisions. They rather delightfully get the nickname “The Golden Girls” in episode two, and hopefully that sticks — while Josie is pursuing music, and Katy fashion, it’s the chemistry of the cast that will make the show work, long term.

And work, it does. Though the second episode is essentially a re-pilot, things progress significantly in episode three, and show how the plot and the emotions will get more complicated as they go. In musicals, things are figured out in two to three hours, flat. In real life, the path to stardom is filled with stops and starts, if you make it at all. With Katy Keene, it will be exciting to watch as these instantly endearing characters navigate the bright, poppy nature of their musical world when further, more realistic obstacles are thrown in their paths. Though hopefully, they won’t encounter any zombies.

Where to watch Katy Keene