‘Riverdale’ Musical Episode: Here’s Why Cole Sprouse’s Jughead Won’t Be Singing

Riverdale is getting musical, but one character is singing a different tune. Jughead Jones, played by Cole Sprouse, won’t be joining the rest of the gang in any musical numbers for the upcoming Riverdale episode, according to TV Line. The episode, titled “A Night to Remember,” will feature the Riverdale characters in a school production of Carrie: The Musical, but Sprouse is apparently no songbird.

Riverdale executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told reporters he talked to Cole Sprouse about the musical installment, but the former Disney star didn’t bite.

“Cole and I talked about it a while ago, and I said, ‘How do you feel about musicals?'” the Riverdale EP said, according to TV Line. “At that time, we were going to do Little Shop of Horrors. And he basically said, ‘Listen, I never sang for Disney. It would take a lot.'”

Aguirre-Sacasa went on to agree that the Jughead character probably wouldn’t be one to take part in a school musical. The Riverdale showrunner then responded.

“When you see the episode, he’s very much an integral part of it, and he’s doing something quintessentially Jughead during the musical. Except he doesn’t sing.”

The musical episode will show more of the high school side to the CW crime-mystery show. Aguirre-Sacasa told reporters that “doing the school musical is such a rite of passage that we wanted to do that.”

Last month, Variety reported that the musical episode of Riverdale would feature 11 songs. The episode will be framed as a documentary about the high school production filmed by Sprouse’s character, Jughead Jones. Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) leads the school cast of the musical as Carrie White in the Riverdale drama department’s adaption of Stephen King’s famous novel, while Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) portrays antagonist Chris Hargensen. Riverdale favorites Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) play popular couple Sue Snell and Tommy Ross in this show within a show.

Of course, Riverdale is not the first non-musical TV drama series to dive into its musical side. In 2011, the ABC medical series Grey’s Anatomy featured a musical episode titled “Song Beneath the Song,” also known as “Grey’s Anatomy: The Music Event,” which featured the hospital docs belting out tunes by Snow Patrol and The Fray. And who can forget the 2001 Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, “Once More, With Feeling.” Buffy creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed the episode as well as wrote all the musical numbers. Even The Flash went all-musical for an episode, with last season’s “Duet.”

Riverdale doesn’t follow stories from the old school Archie comic book series, but the musical episode brings back memories of earlier incarnations of the animated Archie characters who performed in a bubblegum pop musical group, The Archies. While past episodes of Riverdale have included musical numbers from Josie and the Pussycats, back in 1969, The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” was a No. 1 hit.

Come to think of it, Jughead didn’t sing with that group either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nE2spOw_o

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW. The musical episode, titled “Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember,” airs Wednesday, April 18.