'Riverdale's creator says filming the memorial episode for Luke Perry was incredibly "hard" for everyone involved.
Luke Perry
Creator and executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will pay tribute to the late actor - who tragically passed away in March after suffering a stroke - and he hopes everyone will see it as "cathartic".
He said: "I think everyone was - I don't want to say happy to have a catharsis - but when [Luke's death] happened we were kind of all scattered. So there was something really special when we gathered to do the table read that was cathartic and shows our families. We knew it was going to be hard, and it was ... I think it is cathartic for people who have seen the show and hopefully it's cathartic for people who have emotional ties to Luke as well. Another kind of different thing that we chose to do was not include a 'previously on.' We actually had one and The CW very wisely said, 'You know what? Don't include it. Use the extra time for the episode; even a minute is precious. And let it be kind of special.'"
And Aguirre-Sacasa praised the late actor for being a "father figure" to the show's lead star KJ Apa and all the other cast.
Speaking in a Q&A session of a special screening of the episode in Los Angeles, he added: "He was a mentor and a father figure to KJ and to all the kids. I remember when we went to the first Comic-Con for Riverdale, it was right before the show aired and I remember vividly hearing Luke say to KJ, 'After the show comes out, it will not be like this again.' We weren't in that headspace. We were still filming, the show hadn't premiered, so it felt off, but Luke, he could see [the success and fame] kind of coming."
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