What Time Does ‘Riverdale’ Season 5 Premiere on The CW?

After months of eager anticipation, TV’s wildest series is finally back: Riverdale is returning for Season 5 on The CW, just in time for [checks notes] prom season?

Well, okay, maybe not just in time, but after getting shut down due of COVID, The Town With Pep returned to production, finished filming its twentieth episode — a.k.a. the one with the Senior Prom — and will barrel through from there, leading to a time jump of about seven years post-graduation in a few episodes’ time.

With the cast and crew returning, some potential big goodbyes on the horizon, and plenty of relationship drama — as well as your requisite insane murders — it’s natural that you would want to know: when is Riverdale on tonight? So here’s that information. Below. Right now.

When is Riverdale on tonight? What time does Riverdale Season 5 premiere on The CW?

Riverdale Season 5 premieres Wednesday, January 20 at 8/7c on The CW. The episode, titled “Chapter Seventy-Seven: Climax” is written by Ace Hasan and Greg Murray, and directed by Pamela Romanowsky. Here’s a synopsis from The CW:

PROM NIGHT INTERRUPTED — Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Jughead’s (Cole Sprouse) investigation into the auteur leads them to the discovery of a secret underground for red-band screenings. Elsewhere, in order to impress the visiting Naval Academy Commandant, Archie (KJ Apa) agrees to participate in a boxing exhibition against another candidate — KO Kelly (guest star Zane Holtz). Meanwhile, as Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) prepares for prom, she stumbles upon a major secret that Toni’s (Vanessa Morgan) been keeping from her. Camila Mendes, Mädchen Amick, Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, Charles Melton, Vanessa Morgan and Drew Ray Tanner also star.

The premiere will be followed at 9/8c by another season premiere, Nancy Drew Season 2’s first episode, “The Search for the Midnight Wrath.” Double the mysteries!

Can I watch Riverdale Season 5 online free?

Does Jughead wear a hat? Episodes of Riverdale, like most CW shows, premiere the next day 100% free on The CW website and CW app. You’ll be able to watch five episodes at a time before they expire, so if you want to watch “Climax” make sure you do it before the end of February. Internationally, you can watch Riverdale on Netflix the next day as well: episodes will premiere weekly on Thursdays.

How did Riverdale Season 4 end? Can you give me a quick Riverdale Season 4 recap?

Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem, not a lot of stuff usually happens on Riverdale. Kidding! I could probably spend a thousand words recapping one episode’s cold open.

That said, there are two main things you need to remember from Riverdale Season 4 before you get into the new season. The first is that there’s a villain on the loose in the town who has been taking weird video tapes of people’s doors called The Voyeur. That weirdo — or perhaps an entirely different weirdo — amped things up considerably when a group of people started dressing in masks that look like the classic comics versions of the Riverdale characters, and reenacting some of the town’s worst moments: the death of Jason Blossom, the Black Hood murders, and more. They’re now called The Auteur, and Betty (Lili Reinhart), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), and their half-brother Charles (Wyatt Nash) are hot on his — or her — trail.

The second thing you need to remember is that Betty and Archie (KJ Apa) kissed during this year’s talent show. Momentarily in fights with their significant others — Jughead and Veronica (Camila Mendes), respectively — the kiss at first seemed to be a youthful indiscretion. But soon it became something more, with the two meeting surreptitiously in the town’s sex bunker to hold hands. And Archie even wrote a song for Betty titled “Carry the Torch.” The two decided that they should part ways because they still loved Jughead and Veronica and didn’t want to hurt them, and then fans argued non-stop for nearly nine solid months about whether they were actually done with each other. It was not fun.

Oh, one more thing you need to remember is back in the Before Times, there was a spinoff of Riverdale called Katy Keene. The latter show was set five-ish years after Riverdale, but we already met at least one of the characters from the series, Katy Keene (Lucy Hale) herself, who was friends with Veronica back in her NYC days. Katy was — and is — dating a boxer named KO Kelly (Zane Holtz).

Who else is in the Riverdale Season 5 cast?

In addition to Reinhart, Sprouse, Apa and Mendes, the whole cast will be back for Season 5. That includes Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Mädchen Amick as Alice Smith, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, and Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle. Though Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge and Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones were both scheduled to leave at the end of Season 4, they’ll be back for the first three episodes of Season 5; and Nichols will continue to appear on the show on a guest star/recurring basis.

In addition, Drew Ray Tanner as Fangs Fogarty has been bumped up to main cast, Erinn Westbrook is joining as Tabitha Tate, and Chris Mason will be recurring as…. Veronica’s new husband, Chad Gekko.

When will the rest of Riverdale Season 5 air? How many episodes are there?

Riverdale will air weekly on Wednesdays at 8/7c. Though The CW only releases their broadcast schedule a week or so in advance, we do know the names and titles for a few upcoming episodes, and you can check out a complete rundown of everything we know about Riverdale Season 5 here, which will be updated throughout the season.

Season 5, Episode 2: January 27, 2021 – “Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Preppy Murders”
Season 5, Episode 3: February 3, 2021 – “Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation”
Season 5, Episode 4: February 10, 2021 – “Chapter Eighty: Purgatory”
Season 5, Episode 5: February 17, 2021 – “Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming”

A bit of an asterisk that as of this writing, only the first title — “The Preppy Murders” — and date have been one hundred percept confirmed, though we do know that the season’s fourth episode — a.k.a. the Time Jump episode — will air on February 10.

Additionally, at least according to one of the writers, the current plan is to run 10 episodes, take a three or so week break, then air the final 9 episodes. Yes, there are 19 episodes total this season, including the three that were shifted over from Season 4. But however you break it down, barring any holidays/specials/pre-emptions, Riverdale should run straight through until about mid-June or so.

When will Riverdale Season 5 be on Netflix?

Though not every CW show heads to Netflix anymore, Riverdale almost assuredly will, thanks to the grandfather deal that allows CW shows that previously went on the service to continue there. Though we don’t have an exact finale date, Riverdale Season 5 will be on Netflix 8 days after the finale. So if you’re waiting for then, it should be right at the end of June/early July.

Will Riverdale Season 5 be on Hulu?

Nope. The CW is not available on Hulu with Live TV, unfortunately; so catch it live on air, or the next day on one of The CW sites.

Where to watch Riverdale