Riverdale on DVD, Blu-ray on August 15

After complaining about Riverdale early on, I have to admit that the show grew on me. It helped that I quit thinking about it as an Archie comic adaptation and instead approached it as a CW “angsty teen drama“. It made for fun popcorn viewing, particularly as we settled into the characters and how extreme they could be. It was the CW’s top new show this year, so maybe other people felt the same way.

In case you missed it and want to catch up, the 13 episodes of Riverdale: The Complete First Season (list price $39.99) will be available on DVD (and Blu-ray, through the Warner Archive) on August 15. From the press release:

“Riverdale is full of nostalgic Archie elements, but this all-new series brings viewers mystery, seduction, and corruption and would probably make the original gang blush,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, Television Marketing. “We’re thrilled to offer fans this dark, subversive pleasure — along with exclusive DVD and Blu-ray bonus content — just in time for the second season premiere on The CW.”

That’s a pretty good description, as key events this season included Archie (KJ Apa) sleeping with a teacher; the murder of Cheryl Blossom’s (Madelaine Petsch) twin Jason; Jughead (Cole Sprouse) being homeless and hooking up with Betty (Lili Reinhart), whose mother (Mädchen Amick) is demented; and hints of a love triangle between Archie’s father (Luke Perry), his mother (Molly Ringwald), and Veronica’s (Camila Mendes) mother (Marisol Nichols).

Special features (also on the Blu-ray) include:

• “Riverdale: The New Normal” and “Riverdale: The Ultimate Sin”
• The 2016 Comic-Con panel
• Two musical pieces, “I Got You” and “These Are Moments I Remember”
• Deleted scenes
• Gag reel

Here are the 13 episode titles: