A New Character Is Coming To Riverdale & She's A Real Threat To This Major Relationship

The hit CW show, Riverdale, is coming back for a second season and that is going to include another new Southside resident. A newer addition to the classic, comic book series, Toni Topaz, will be "a bit of a disrupter" that could mean "trouble" for Jughead and Betty's relationship according to showrunner, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

Toni Topaz will be played by Vanessa Morgan, who you may know from The Shannara Chronicles. The Canadian actress originally auditioned for the role for season 1. Aguirre-Sacasa explained, "Vanessa auditioned for Riverdale for us last year and we all fell in love with her. We didn’t have a spot for her last year, but I called her after she auditioned and tested and I said, 'I'm so sorry I'm not going to be able to bring you aboard this year, but I love you and I promise you're going to come and be a part of Riverdale next year.'"

Now that the show has been renewed for a 22 episode season, the show's creators are excited to expand the cast and delve deeper into their stories. Toni Topaz will be a fellow classmate of Jughead's at Southside High who turns into a confidant. The showrunner hinted at a rough patch in Jughead and Betty's future. "Bughead is pretty strong, and pretty undeniable, and pretty epic, but you know even the most epic of romances has trouble -- and trouble often comes as a third party," she hinted. "So yes, it is conceivable that Toni will potentially test the limits of Bughead."

What else did she say about Riverdale's newest resident? "She's always been very, very vivacious, exciting and a bit of a disrupter. She very famously has as large an appetite for hamburgers as Jughead Jones," Aguirre-Sacasa explained. She also alluded to Toni's bi-sexuality that was hinted at in the comic series saying it was something they were going to "explore."

Additionally, Aquirre-Sacasa assured ET that they intended to make full use of the 22 episodes to develop the stories of the existing supporting characters we know and love on the show. "We were so happy with the response that people had to season one. We gave it our all and we were so happy that the fans were so passionate and that people so responded to these characters and these actors that everyone loves," she shared. "I think the one thing that we wanted to do in season one that we didn’t get a chance to was explore some of our secondary characters. Characters like Kevin, like Josie, and like the Pussycats, so 22 episodes is just a much, much bigger canvas and allows us to kind of spotlight those characters in a really big way."

Season 2 of Riverdale will premiere on this autumn.