Riverdale cast says Luke Perry tribute premiere was 'most important thing that we had to do'

Luke Perry’s passing has loomed large over Riverdale, and the cast of the CW series said it was essential for the season 4 premiere to pay tribute to his character, Fred Andrews.

“It felt like everything — the most important thing that we had to do before doing anything else, was that,” Marisol Nichols (who plays Hermione on the show) said at EW’s video studio at New York Comic-Con.

Riverdale has teased that the Oct. 9 premiere will feature an appearance from Shannen Doherty, who was Perry’s costar in Beverly Hills, 90210.

Molly Ringwald (Mary) also applauded showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s decision to take his time in crafting the best possible sendoff for Perry’s character. “I think that Roberto was really smart because we lost [Perry] at the end of season 3, and it felt very strange to finish off the season knowing what had happened,” Ringwald said. “But he really wanted to wait and really put some time and all his heart into it. And I feel like it really shows.”

On a lighter note, the cast also talked about what we can expect from the new season, from some Alice and FP action (“Falice,” as fans have dubbed the pairing of Skeet Ulrich and Madchen Amick’s characters) to an appearance from Veronica’s sister, played by Camila Mendes. Hermosa, played by Mishel Prada, is Veronica’s half-sister on her dad Hiram’s (Mark Consuelos) side.

“She’s from another relationship,” Consuelos said. After some prodding from his costars, Consuelos answered a few more questions about his mysterious daughter.

Is Hiram still involved with Hermosa’s mom? “That’s complicated,” he responded. Who is the mom? “I think we’ll probably get into that,” Consuelos added. “There’s a little bit of fun backstory … And I don’t want to ruin anything for the fans.”

One other thing Consuelos revealed about Hermosa — that could be good for his character and spell trouble for others — is that “she really is loyal to Hiram. To the end.”

Related content:

• Archie dons tights and everyone hooks up in Riverdale season 4 trailer
• Read a scene from the Luke Perry tribute episode of Riverdale
• Here’s your first look at Shannen Doherty in Riverdale’s Luke Perry tribute