Welcome to 'Riverdale,' your new guilty pleasure

Have you finished all six seasons of "Gossip Girl" and don’t know what to do with your life now? I’ve got the solution. 

Welcome to "Riverdale," a quiet town bustling with mean girls, scandalous relationships and, most importantly, murder. 

It’s basically begging to be discovered. Developed and written by "Archie Comics"’ chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, "Riverdale" brings the comics’ staple of iconic characters — Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge — to the small screen. 

As an amateur "Archie" reader back in the day, I was so entangled in the love triangle — 75 years and still going — between Archie, Betty and Veronica. Team Veronica for the win. 

Two years ago, when I heard the CW was creating a TV series based off "Archie Comics," I was ecstatic. 

However, it was not the Archie I grew up with. The series’ take on the comics would be much darker and, honestly, sexier.

After plenty of hype surrounding the series this past month, it’s finally here. And how do I feel about it? One acronym — OMG.

"Riverdale" knows exactly what it wants to be. 

It has an attractive cast (which is an understatement), lots of drama, dysfunctional parents and, of course, plenty of dirty secrets — everything you missed from "Gossip Girl." However, it’s "Gossip Girl" with a murder mystery, a territory the show never explored.

Intrigued yet? Let’s delve into the first two episodes of the season.

“Chapter One: The River’s Edge” and “Chapter Two: A Touch of Evil” introduce you to the characters from the sleepy town of Riverdale and their drama. 

When you first meet Archie Andrews (played by newcomer K.J. Apa), he’s hiding a huge secret — he had a summer fling with Riverdale High’s music teacher Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel). Scandalous, right? 

And Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) plays the sweet, naive girl who’s madly in love with Archie, despite her overbearing mother’s disapproval. 

Former rich girl Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) moves into town with her mother to escape national embarrassment after her father’s embezzlement trial. From there, the drama heightens as Veronica comes in between Archie and Betty. 

And let’s not forget Jughead (played by Cole Sprouse, from "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"), the hamburger-loving, noir-ish narrator of the series. Although he’s Archie’s best friend, Jughead seems to be holding a grudge against him at the moment — and it goes back to this past summer. 

Now here’s where it gets juicy.

Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines), Riverdale High’s star athlete, mysteriously vanishes on the Fourth of July. 

This sends HBIC (Head Bitch In Charge) and Jason’s twin sister Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) on a mission to solve his disappearance. Cheryl is basically the Blair Waldorf of Riverdale — rich, entitled and manipulative. 

The town of Riverdale is soon rocked by tragedy when Jason turns up with a bullet in his head.

Tell me this isn’t a guilty pleasure. 

If you want to escape from your studies, "Riverdale," which comes on Thursdays at 9 p.m., is your new best friend. 

And when you return to reality, you’ll be glad you’re not back in high school.

@adamphan_

swerve@dailytarheel.com