CULTURE

Lucy Hale Tops Off the Cast of Riverdale Spin-off Katy Keene

*Katy Keene* might be The CW's next big guilty pleasure.


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Super-producers Greg Berlanti and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will take a short break from filling television with dramatic, lustful teenagers in Riverdale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to give us an Archie-verse spin-off centered on dramatic, lustful twenty-somethings. Announced earlier this year as a CW pilot, Katy Keene (based on paper-doll characters from way back in the Archie Comics archives) will follow a group of young adults as they try to make their way in the worlds of fashion and show business.

Now the show has found the star for its titular character, one who, perhaps not coincidentally, is a veteran of another show about dramatic, lustful teenagers: Pretty Little Liars alum Lucy Hale. While Keene was portrayed as a model in the comic, Hale will play a new version of the character who holds down a job as a personal shopper by day but one day hopes to design her own line. The Hollywood Reporter describes the character as “bold, big-hearted, and independent and a New Yorker with dreams.”

Hale also debuted a new, slightly shorter hairstyle on Instagram today, which we’ll just go ahead and assume might have something to do with the character.

Though Hale may be the biggest name to join the cast so far, she’s not the only young actor signed up. Meet the rest of the cast here.

Ashleigh Murray

Archie-verse fans already know Murray as the aspiring musician Josie McCoy from Riverdale, and she’ll reprise the character here, albeit a few years older (exact timelines do not seem to be of much concern in the Riverdale universe). Presumably, she’ll continue pursuing her music career as Keene pursues her fashion dreams.

Camille Hyde

Hyde’s particular character hasn’t been divulged yet (as is the case for most of the cast), but the actress isn’t new to TV. Her breakthrough role was as the Pink Ranger in a dinosaur-themed season of the Power Rangers (which, yes, in case you weren’t aware, is still going strong). More recently, though, you might have seen her as Gabi on Netflix’s now canceled cult comedy hit American Vandal.

Lucien Laviscount

Can you tell that he’s British from that caption? Yes, Laviscount is already something of a teen drama and soap star in his native country, having done stints on programs like Grange Hill, Coronation Street, and Waterloo Road (not to mention some time in Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother house). Though, Americans might know him best from his supporting role as Earl Grey on Scream Queens.

Julie Chan

Another Brit (albeit one with a degree from Harvard and a childhood spent part of the time in Hong Kong), Chan is best known for her work in Canadian television, including a stint as the host of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Johnny Beauchamp

Beauchamp has already built something a career playing characters who exist outside of, or in between, the gender binary (including roles in Stonewall and Penny Dreadful). It’s unclear what his role will be here, but it’s a show about young creatives in New York City, so it’s to be expected that there would be at least one out actor among the cast.

Related: Lucy Hale on Her Beauty Insecurities and What Pretty Little Liars Taught Her About Makeup