Riverdale will incorporate series star Vanessa Morgan's real-life pregnancy into the show in season 5. Created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Riverdale is a teen mystery-drama series that premiered on The CW in January 2017. The show is based on the characters of Archie Comics, and it features KJ Apa in the role of Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones. Riverdale's recent season 4 premiered in October 2019, but it ended early in May 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the US. The show had already been renewed for season 5 in January, which is due to premiere on January 20, 2021.
Morgan has played Toni Topaz in Riverdale since season 2. Morgan's Toni was initially a recurring character, but she was quickly promoted to a series regular for the third season onward. When Toni first appeared in Riverdale, she was a student at Southside High who was suspected to cause trouble in Jughead and Betty's paradise. But that didn't happen as she ended up dating Madelaine Petsch's Cheryl Blossom instead. In season 3, after being ousted from the Southside Serpents, Toni forms an all-girl gang called the Pretty Poisons with Cheryl. And, in season 4, she helps Kevin (Casey Cott) win his spot back in the Variety Show. In July 2020, Morgan announced her pregnancy, casting doubts about Toni's return in season 5. But the doubts were soon sorted out when Morgan confirmed that she would continue to reprise her role in the show. Now Morgan has made the situation even clearer by revealing how the creators will cater to her pregnancy on screen.
Recently, Morgan posted a picture to Instagram confirming that her real-life pregnancy has been written into the storyline in Riverdale season 5. In the post, Morgan thanked her Riverdale showrunner and producers for adjusting to her situation and for writing her pregnancy into the script to make things easier on the actress. In the same post, Morgan also revealed that she is now almost 9 months pregnant and she has already commenced her maternity leave. You can see the post from Morgan's Instagram profile below.
Earlier this year, Morgan had expressed her contempt over Riverdale's treatment of minority characters and actors. Morgan revealed that she was paid the least and that her character only existed as a sidekick to the main white characters. But as it now appears, Morgan has probably sorted out her differences with the showrunners. In the post, she expresses gratitude to Aguirre-Sacasa for being so accommodating, and Aguirre-Sacasa too is appreciative of Morgan for giving her best despite her pregnancy. He even left a heart-warming comment on her Instagram post and he says that he is looking forward to her having the first "Riverbaby."
Right now it's quite unclear how Morgan's (and Toni's) pregnancy will play out in Riverdale. In fact, unlike in real-life, fans do not even know who the father of Toni's child is. Since Riverdale is headed for a seven-year time jump sometime during season 5, it is quite possible that Toni will be shown pregnant only after the time leap and the mystery surrounding her character will probably involve the identity of the father of her child. Toni's pregnancy also means that she might not be with Cheryl after the leap. But that is something that fans will have to wait to find out. But the one thing that is clear is that with Morgan's maternity break fans can expect to see much less of Toni in season 5.
Source: Vanessa Morgan
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