How the ‘Riverdale’ Season 4 Premiere Will Pay Tribute to Luke Perry

Riverdale is kicking off its fourth season in the fall by saying goodbye to Luke Perry and Fred Andrews.

Creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said that the premiere, airing on Wednesday, October 9, at 8/7c, will pay tribute to both the actor and the character he portrayed for three seasons.

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“Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever,” he wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred.”

He also posted a page from the script revealing the title of the premiere, written by Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Gabriel Correa: “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam.”

Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever. A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred. ❤️🏆💎👨🏻‍💻 pic.twitter.com/MH7xOjNyDu

— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) June 19, 2019

Perry passed away in March after complications from a stroke, and he appeared posthumously in several episodes of Riverdale Season 3. The series paid tribute to Perry with an In Memoriam card at the end of Season 3, Episode 14 (on March 7), and Aguirre-Sacasa shared that it and “all episodes … for the rest of our run” would be dedicated to Perry.

Perry’s final on-screen appearance came in the April 24 episode, Season 3, Episode 19, with a last moment between father and son. After that, Fred Andrews was off-screen, out of town, and Archie’s (KJ Apa) mother, Mary (Molly Ringwald), has been staying with him.

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The Season 4 premiere title suggests we’ll find out how Riverdale plans to write out Fred — and it’ll likely be tragic and one of the saddest episodes of the series.

Riverdale, Season 4 Premiere, Wednesday, October 9, 8/7c, The CW