If you track these things, you’ve probably heard there is an Archie show in development for The CW. A pilot for Riverdale, produced by Greg Berlanti, is set to air in early 2017. It’s not exactly the Archie you may remember though.

Likened to some extent to Twin Peaks, Riverdale is described as “a surprising and subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surrealism of small town life”. For anyone who has read Archie comics, this is more than a bit of a different take. Of course, over the past few years, Archie characters have met up with Kiss, Predator and become zombies so maybe it’s not that much of a stretch.

Archie Andrews, the red-headed typical small-town teen, first appeared in Pep Comics in 1941. He has always had two main crushes/loves in his life – the good girl blonde, Betty Cooper, and the rich girl brunette, Veronica Lodge. He also has a romantic and athletic rival, Reggie Mantle. Plus, his best friend Jughead Jones, who has a bit of a thing for hamburgers. From details released so far, it looks like all of these characters will be on the show. As will the trio Josie and the Pussycats (adding a musical side) and Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character of the Archie comics universe.

Though this is obviously a teen drama, it would be great if it had wide enough appeal for a larger audience. Giving it a darker tone could make it more interesting, but hopefully not in a YA teenage angst sort of way.