This 'Riverdale' Star Is Expecting Both on and off Screen

Last year, a Riverdale crewmember tested positive for COVID-19, forcing production to come to an immediate stop before filming the last few episodes of Season 4. But on Jan. 20, Archie and the gang returned for a fifth season and gave us a glimpse into what the future looks like for the Fab Four which, according to showrunners, includes a seven-year time jump. 

While we won't see the grown-up gang until Episode 4, we’ve gotten some strong hints from cast members about where the time jump will leave the characters of Riverdale. Along with Archie (KJ Apa), who will be returning from the Army, and Veronica (Camila Mendes), who is unhappy married to a man who is NOT Archie, we will see Betty as a 25-year-old FBI trainee — but fans really want to know, is she expecting? 

A popular fan theory has been floating around online since mid-2020 which claims that Betty will be pregnant in Season 5. It seems that some fans believe that Betty will leave Riverdale High pregnant and that, when the gang gets back together seven years later, Jughead will be introduced to his child.

The rumor got even more traction in late 2020 when two young actors were spotted getting COVID-19 tests on set, who, as one fan put it, "literally look like they can be bugheads kids." However, it appears that those actors may be playing the older versions of Jason Blossom and Polly Cooper's twins, Juniper and Dagwood.

While it hasn’t been confirmed, there are no signs that Betty Cooper is pregnant on Season 5 of Riverdale, but there is one cast member who is expecting a bundle of joy both on-and-offscreen. In July of 2020, Vanessa Morgan, who joined the show as Toni Topaz during Season 2, announced her pregnancy — a detail that showrunners ultimately used to help cultivate her storyline ahead of the show’s time jump.   

It’s unclear exactly how Vanessa’s story will unfold, but Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa says that there are a number of other twists and turns ahead for the Fab Four and the rest of the Riverdale High crew in the upcoming weeks.

If all was right with the world, Archie would marry Veronica and they would live their lives. But this is Riverdale, and things can go pretty wrong. According to Roberto, it was important to him to show what life would be like for the Fab Four if they graduated from high school and went their separate ways. He told ET last May, “Usually time jumps happen in between seasons, but this is an extraordinary year and these are extraordinary circumstances.” 

He did confirm that the first four episodes of the show would tie up loose ends that were left hanging at the end of Season 4, so we won’t have to say goodbye to our favorite teenagers just yet. He explained, "You know, the writers were all meeting via Zoom and the one thing we decided on is that rather than doing a time jump between Season 4 and 5, we thought that things like prom and things like graduation [are important.]"

He concluded, “After spending four years with these characters in high school, you don’t want to lose that — so, the first three episodes back are kind of a direct continuation."

Now that we’ve given you all the details on exactly what to expect on Season 5, the only thing you’re missing is exactly how to watch. Although the first four seasons of Riverdale are currently available on Netflix, new episodes from Season 5 of Riverdale will premiere Wednesdays on the CW at 8 p.m. ET.