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Riverdale may be over, but its cast is just getting started! Join us as we explore the exciting new chapters the stars of the hit CW drama have taken on since saying goodbye to their iconic roles. From Broadway debuts and Golden Globe nominations to producing deals and award-winning performances, these actors have proven there's plenty of life after the show. Which career move has impressed you the most? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the exciting new chapters the Riverdale cast has taken on since
00:06saying goodbye to the show.
00:15Machen Amick
00:20Shove it hell
00:21Leaving Alice Cooper behind only opened more doors behind the camera.
00:26Machen Amick pulled double duty on Brilliant Minds, directing an episode and guest-starring in another.
00:32Matthew, we need to talk right now.
00:36Where do you get off not coming for Thanksgiving? Our little girl's coming home and you're blowing us off?
00:40Leisha, can you not do this here?
00:43Her feature directorial debut, Fractured, screened at Dances with Films in 2026, further cementing her move into directing after Riverdale.
00:52Away from sets, her mental health advocacy continues, including work connected to Don't Mind Me's planned recovery campus in Palm
01:00Springs.
01:01Founded a mental health foundation that's direct impact to help those in need that can't otherwise get treatment or find
01:09sources and support.
01:10In 2026, she also joined the Kids Mental Health Foundation's new entertainment council, extending her advocacy work even further beyond
01:19Hollywood on multiple fronts.
01:20My mental health work has bled into my Hollywood career, so I'm inspired by being a part of projects that
01:30are doing great things in the mental health space.
01:32Ashley Murray
01:33Her time as Josie McCoy didn't end when she left Riverdale's main cast.
01:38I didn't have much of a say in our old times. And at this point, we're more acquaintances than friends.
01:44Yikes.
01:44Oh, Jughead, the last time I saw you, you were robbing Pop Tates at gunpoint in a serpent's mask.
01:50Murray carried the character into the 2020 spinoff Katie Keene, then returned to the CW as Zenzy Fullerton on 2022's
01:58Tom Swift.
01:59I get to be funny. I get to be sexy. She's here. She's all the way here.
02:05Okay.
02:05She next starred as Hazel May McCall in Hulu's The Other Black Girl, earning Namek's 2024 Vision Award for Best
02:12Performance Comedy.
02:13More recently, she led OWN's 2025 holiday movie Very Merry Mystery and appeared in the 2026 AI thriller Serena, with
02:23comedic slasher Batshit Crazy from Josie Andrews also on her slate.
02:27There are still so many lessons that I'm learning now at this point in my career, because it's still so
02:31young and, you know, kind of in its infancy a bit. So I'm learning as I go.
02:35The Riverdale story may be over, but the entertainment never stops here. Scan the QR code on screen and tune
02:42in to Ms. Mojo's 24-7 live stream for non-stop pop culture fun.
02:46If you need me, I'll back you. When a time is right, you say the word. Thank you.
02:54Casey Cott
02:55Broadway was already calling as this actor prepared to say goodbye to Kevin Keller. Cott made his Broadway debut as
03:12Christian in Moulin Rouge! The Musical in August 2023, remaining through February 2024.
03:18The audience was amazing. My whole family was there. And just the support of the building, I just felt them
03:25loving me no matter, you know, what happened. They just were giving so much love. And I think that you
03:32just never forget it.
03:32In September 2023, he and his wife, Nicola Basara, welcomed their first child, son Cassius Cash Michael. His screenwork is
03:41picking up again. He stars in indie thriller Games We Play and joined the ensemble of 1990s set rom-com
03:48Connection Pending, which entered production in Tennessee in 2026.
03:52In August 2026, Cott also returned for Moulin Rouge's Broadway Closing Night Come What May performance alongside former castmates.
04:01I love you until the end of time.
04:09Vanessa Morgan
04:10I'm Tony Topaz. I was supposed to give you the full animatronic chore of South Side High, but some of
04:17the robots went insane and started killing the guests, so we'll just wing it.
04:21Trading Tony Topaz for a con artist gave this actress her first series-leading role. Since 2024, she has starred
04:29opposite Giacomo Gianotti as con artist Max Mitchell in Wild Cards, which reached its third season in 2026. Seasons three
04:38and four were filmed back-to-back in Vancouver, with the fourth wrapping in March.
04:42I got a surprise for you.
04:43What?
04:44I'm a cop.
04:45You're not a cop. You have a badge?
04:46Not yet.
04:47Not ever.
04:48A gun?
04:48Soon.
04:49No, Max, you're not getting a gun.
04:50The role has earned Morgan three consecutive Leo Award nominations for Best Lead Performance in a Dramatic Series.
04:57Off-screen, 2024 brought major milestones, too.
05:01She welcomed daughter Kaya Autumn Skye with James Karnick in July before the couple became engaged that December.
05:07My fiancé's name is James. He's awesome, and he's the father of my daughter Kaya.
05:15So yeah, I gave birth last year as well, and then filmed Wild Card, so yeah, a lot of big
05:22things for me this year.
05:23Between motherhood and a leading role, Morgan has stayed plenty busy.
05:27Charles Melton.
05:29Reggie Mantle, a.k.a. Jock Ram Sweeney, gonna brought up with my butt arch here.
05:34Just two single straight dudes doing some theater.
05:38Reggie Mantle turned out to be just the warm-up for a serious career leap.
05:43Melton's performance in 2023's May-December earned him a Gotham Award and a Golden Globe nomination.
05:49He followed it with 2025's Warfare, Nicholas Winding Refn's 2026's Her Private Hell, and Beef Season 2,
05:58which brought his first Acting Emmy nomination plus another as an executive producer.
06:03You don't actually love me.
06:06What?
06:08I'd love you more than anything.
06:10You think you do.
06:13But you just have abandonment issues.
06:15His upcoming slate is just as packed.
06:192027 Netflix romance Saturn Return, Elijah Bynum's crime thriller My Darling California,
06:25and an untitled Universal event film from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert alongside Matt Damon and Sandra Oh.
06:33Offscreen, 2026 was just as eventful.
06:36Melton welcomed a daughter with photographer-director Camille Summers-Valley
06:40and publicly referred to her as his wife during a May Gold Gala speech.
06:45What's something that has surprised you about fatherhood?
06:50I'd say...
06:53Everything.
06:55Everything has surprised me.
06:57Madeline Pesch.
06:58Hi, I'm Cheryl Blossom, a.k.a. Cheryl Bombshell,
07:02which means I need no reasons.
07:04I simply am.
07:06Cheryl Blossom's final bow set Pesch straight into a genre-hopping film run.
07:11She led all three movies in the Strangers reboot trilogy as Maya while also producing across the franchise.
07:19In 2025, she starred in and executive-produced prime video rom-com Maintenance Required.
07:25I am Charlie O'Malley.
07:27Period.
07:28You know I was raised on these garage floors?
07:30Playing with wrenches instead of Barbies.
07:33They want to come here and try and steal business from us?
07:36In our own community?
07:38Good luck.
07:39The following year, Pretty Babies, featuring Pesch alongside Ashley Benson,
07:43Emily Allen-Lind, and Sadie Stanley,
07:46world premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
07:49She also signed on to lead the Wattpad adaptation Chasing Red opposite Gavin Casalano
07:55and the newly announced rom-com I Wish I Never Had Sex With Him
07:59while developing more projects through Dog Ear Productions.
08:03I have like a naturally producerial brain, I feel like,
08:06so I can, especially being on Riverdale where the kids kind of ran the show,
08:10like we were there for so long that we learned everything we could possibly learn,
08:14especially the girls, like we really soaked that up.
08:15We all have production companies now.
08:17As if that wasn't impressive enough,
08:19she's also expanding her horror resume with a role in American Horror Story 13.
08:24Cole Sprouse.
08:25Playing a nearly wordless reanimated Victorian corpse
08:29was one of his first movies after seven seasons as Jughead.
08:33In case you haven't noticed, I'm weird.
08:35I'm a weirdo.
08:37I don't fit in and I don't want to fit in.
08:41Sprouse starred opposite Catherine Newton in 2024's Lisa Frankenstein,
08:45then appeared in fellow 2024 film, I Wish You All The Best.
08:50They them feels like it could be right.
08:52Do you want us to start using that?
08:55Yeah.
08:56Sure.
08:58Great.
08:59But only at home, I think.
09:01Like, I don't want people at school to know right now.
09:03In 2025, he joined Matthew McConaughey in The Rivals of Amzia King.
09:08Sprouse kept that momentum going in 2026 with two more festival titles.
09:13Road drama The Long Haul world premiered at Tribeca,
09:16while crime caper Vintage Violence debuted at TIFF in September.
09:21I was more than excited to be filming in Japan.
09:24It was an incredible experience.
09:26Next up are 2027 Amazon MGM rom-com Goodbye Girl opposite Kiernan Schivka
09:32and Roxy Sofia Sorkin's coming-of-age revenge thriller Hot Year,
09:36with Catherine Newton, Storm Reid, and Dove Cameron.
09:40Camila Mendez.
09:41Veronica Lodge's business instincts may have rubbed off,
09:45because this actress has become increasingly active behind the camera.
09:49I'm glad you came, Daddy.
09:51If only so you can see how a legitimate business is run.
09:56Follow me.
09:56In 2024, she starred in and executive produced both Upgraded and Musica,
10:03the latter opposite future fiancé Rudy Mancuso.
10:06She then acted in and produced 2025's Idiotka.
10:10Her company Honor Roll made its first executive hires in February 2026,
10:15before Mendez traded rom-coms for Eternia as Tila in Masters of the Universe.
10:20Hang on.
10:21It's about to get weird.
10:23Okay.
10:24Shit.
10:24Fold space.
10:25Folding space and getting weird.
10:32Her upcoming slate includes Danny Ramirez's Baton,
10:36Carlos Lopez Estrada's D.E.D., which she also produced,
10:40and Guy Ritchie's Viva La Madness with Jason Statham.
10:44As of August 2026, she was also filming Tommy Karate with Pete Davidson.
10:49Offscreen, she and Mancuso got engaged in October 2025
10:53and are taking wedding plans slowly.
10:56Toto!
10:57Let's see it.
10:58Wait, it keeps moving to the side.
10:59Here we go.
11:00I just want to know, wedding planning, is it happening?
11:02Yeah, totally.
11:04No, it's happening.
11:05Yeah, she has so much time.
11:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:08No, we know the venue.
11:10That's the start.
11:11Lily Reinhart.
11:12She has spent the post-Riverdale years
11:14making sure Betty Cooper doesn't define her resume.
11:18I do everything for everyone.
11:21Everything to be perfect.
11:23The perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect student.
11:27Can't I do this one thing just for me?
11:30In 2025, she starred in and executive produced
11:34Cooper Rife's Hall and Harper and Uta Brizavitz's American Sweatshop.
11:38She switched gears again in 2026 with horror comedy Forbidden Fruits
11:42and a starring turn in BTS's Swim music video.
11:53Next, she stars opposite Tom Bateman in Prime Video's The Love Hypothesis,
11:58which she also executive produced.
12:00Her upcoming slate includes The Very Best People with Jake Lacey,
12:05The Mannequin with Melissa Leo,
12:07Bad Boy with Kihui Kwan,
12:08and Amazon MGM rom-com Fake Wedding,
12:11which she'll produce.
12:13Beyond acting, Reinhart has stayed busy building her own ventures,
12:17such as her skincare brand Personal Day
12:19and her production company, Small Victory.
12:22I don't want to work just to work, ever.
12:24I love what I do and I love acting,
12:26but I'm not going to film something just because I need a job.
12:31And I'm very fortunate to be in that position.
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12:59KJ Apa.
13:00You haven't known the triumphs and defeats,
13:02the epic highs and lows of high school football,
13:05but you will,
13:06at least for one afternoon when all of us play a game,
13:09one game,
13:10to remind them that we are not animals.
13:14Motorcycle racers,
13:16European romances,
13:17Hollywood legends,
13:18and sports world intrigue
13:20make for one eclectic post-Riverdale resume.
13:23Apa starred in and executive produced
13:262024's One Fast Move,
13:28then romanced Madeline Klein in 2025's
13:31The Math That Leads to You.
13:33We get to decide who we're becoming every moment.
13:36It's not up to us to decide which moment is perfect
13:40and which moment isn't perfect.
13:41This fall brings Falling on October 9th
13:44and Jimmy Stewart biopic Jimmy on November 6th.
13:48He's also joined holiday horror White Elephant,
13:51is filming Netflix's Myron Bolotar as Wynne Lockwood,
13:54and remains attached to play sublime frontman Bradley Noel
13:58in Justin Chan's biopic.
14:00Elsewhere,
14:01Apa has been candid about playing Archie,
14:04seemingly comparing Riverdale to being in jail because of its restrictions.
14:07I think when I first came off Riverdale,
14:10I had no idea what that was.
14:12I didn't know if I liked acting.
14:14I didn't know if I belonged in this industry,
14:17and it took a few years.
14:20Honestly, the first step was getting sober.
14:22More recently,
14:23he accused lookalike TikTok star Mr. Fantasy of stealing his image.
14:27Mr. Fantasy later claimed they met and squashed their public feud.
14:32Would you be open to meeting him?
14:34Not really.
14:35I don't really have any respect for him, to be honest.
14:38Do you have a response to him?
14:39Because he's just kind of willy-nilly,
14:41like he's running roughshod.
14:42I don't know what to tell you.
14:43I haven't really been paying attention.
14:45Okay.
14:45Which post-Riverdale career has surprised you the most?
14:48Sound off in the comments.