Being back home also provides an oppor-
tunity to get to know who the seven are to-
day. How much of it is real, and how much
will be fictionalized? “There’ll be some
shred of truth,” Ziering admits, “but for the
most part, this is a scripted program.”
What will ring true over the course of the
show is how
ever yone is feeling
being back together
without castmate
Luke Perr y, whose
sudden passing last
March will be
acknowledged.
Ziering, who’d
remained especially
close to the
RIVERDALE star
over the years, calls his pal’s absence “a
huge hurt... We have moments on set
where we’ve just got to stop for a second
and think about [him]. It’s tough.”
Who’ll Turn Up?
Fortunately, those moments are balanced
out by the joy of recreating
the beloved Peach Pit set and
reconnecting with more
familiar faces like Emily
Valentine’s former portrayer,
Christine Elise. Might this
show about rebooting a show
eventually result in an
episode featuring the
characters that a whole
generation of viewers loved?
Ziering teases, “We’ll see
where the stor y takes us!”
— Kelli M. Larson
WWW.SOAPSINDEPTH.COM 83
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Having the actors also be producers could bring drama, but
Ziering insists, “We’re a bunch of cooks that understand the
recipe needed to create a fantastic dish.”