The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, surprised the world last week when they announced the name of their newborn baby boy: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The exact reason for their choice of the name “Archie” is unknown, but the CEO/Publisher of Archie Comics Jon Goldwater has an idea.
“Prince Harry’s got red hair, Meghan is American, so I would bet you they’re sitting down at night and watching Riverdale,” Goldwater said of the Royal Baby news. “Without a doubt in mind, they are Riverdale fans.”
Nerdist recently chatted with Goldwater on the phone about tonight’s season finale of Riverdale, its upcoming CW spin-off Katy Keene, and more, but we couldn’t resist asking about baby Archie and what it means to have such a popular American character represented on a global scale. “We’re proud of it, we love it,” he said. “We all enjoy it very much. I literally was cracking up all day. We’re going to be talking about Archie for the next 50 years because of the Royal Family.”
Goldwater has a lot to be excited about, beyond Royal Baby news. He’s both the CEO of Archie comics, and also an executive producer on the hit series Riverdale and Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He’s also the son of Archie Comics founder John L. Goldwater, from whom he took the reins of the company more than a decade ago. Jon help modernize the cache of beloved, internationally known characters for a new generation of audiences.
He was mostly tight-lipped about tonight’s season finale of Riverdale, where we hope to finally learn the true identity of the season’s masked big bad, the Gargoyle King, but he did say that the episode “continues all of the fun stuff people love about Riverdale” and that he thinks audiences will be “very satisfied.” As for where the show goes next—after serial killers and evil cults—Goldwater says that the writers are still figuring that out. Another thing they’re figuring out: How to address the death of Luke Perry, who played Archie’s father Fred Andrews on the series. The finale will not address the actor’s passing, although Goldwater says the next season will find a way to honor the character.
The thing that’s got Goldwater most excited these days is the upcoming Riverdale spin-off series, Katy Keene. “It’s fantastic, and I’mt not saying that because I’m involved in the show,” he said enthusiastically about the series, which will follow the Bill Woggon-created Archie Comics character, played by Lucy Hale, on her adventures in New York City. (Riverdale‘s Josie, played by Ashleigh Murray, will also appear on the series.) “It’s so fully of life, so full of joy. It has it’s own energy, it’s own vibe. It’s not Riverdale-esque and it’s certainly not Sabrina-esque. It’s really a very special, special show. I would be shocked if the Katy Keene pilot isn’t the best pilot out there today, I really believe it’s that good.”
His enthusiasm certainly has us stoked to check out Katy Keene and see how the television lives of these iconic characters will continue to evolve and find new ways to enchant modern audiences. Who knows, if the shows stick around for a few more decades, maybe Archie Mountbatten-Windsor will guest star one day.
Images: The CW
