Skeet Ulrich, Marisol Nichols leaving Riverdale by conclusion of season 5
In a statement (per TVLine), the actor confirmed that he will not be returning to the CW series following this season. He’s taken on the role over time of FP, Jughead Jones’ father, and served as an important cog in the story along the way. We don’t get a sense that his departure has much to do with the writers wanting to do away with the character; instead, the statement suggests that this was Ulrich’s own decision to explore some other potential gigs:
“I’m incredibly grateful for the friendships I’ve made on Riverdale, and I will miss seeing everyone on a daily basis … I’m proud to have been part of such a talented group of people, in front of the camera and behind. But I’ve decided that it’s time for me to move on to explore other creative opportunities.”
If there is a silver lining here (such as it is), it’s that this announcement is coming in easily enough time in order to make sure that the FP character is going to have a fitting end to their story. We don’t know how exactly the writers are going to remove his from the story, but this will mark the second time in the past year that we’ve seen the series lose a prominent parent to one of the main characters. This situation is obviously different from that of Luke Perry (Fred Andrews), who passed away during production of season 3.
Given that the kids on Riverdale are progressively getting older, the parent characters may not have as much to do. Maybe this exit is a nod to that, or that Ulrich just wants to try and do some different things.
Update: TVLine has also confirmed that Marisol Nichols will also be leaving the series at the end of the season. Here’s some of what she had to say:
“I had an incredible time bringing Hermione Lodge to life and working with my amazing cast, who became family … We had so many wonderful times together during the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We really do have the best fans ever. I am looking forward to the next chapter and am excited about the future.”
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This article was written by Jessica Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.