Put your Serpent jackets on! Skeet Ulrich is returning for ‘Riverdale’ Season 5 to tie up loose ends. Showrunners believe that this is a perfect opportunity to send the character off properly. Keep reading to find out more details about what is in store for the viewers.
Earlier this year, Skeet Ulrich confirmed his decision to leave ‘Riverdale’ after season 4 ended. American teenage crime thriller ‘Riverdale’ was one of the very first shows to shut down production when Covid-19 hit the world. With season 4 ending abruptly, ‘Riverdale’ Season 5 will pick up from where it had left off, which means Skeet Ulrich will be back in town.
Highlights —
- Skeet Ulrich left the show on accounts of being bored
- ‘Riverdale’ is going to be one sheriff down
- Skeet Ulrich will return in ‘Riverdale’ Season 5
Skeet Ulrich left the show on accounts of being bored
Back in February, with the fourth season of ‘Riverdale’ already up and running, Skeet Ulrich announced that he would not be returning for season 5. The shocker of an announcement jumped many hearts as Ulrich brought the cat out of the bag. But, back then, he did not provide a concrete reason. Hinting at the new professional options that have opened up for him, Ulrich mentioned leaving the show in an attempt to
“explore other creative opportunities”. Skeet Ulrich had signed to star in Tom Hanks’ upcoming sci-fi film, ‘Bios’ and the new series on Quibi, #FreeRayShawn

Recently, in a live chat session with fans on Instagram, Skeet Ulrich grew candid as he mentioned the real reason for leaving ‘Riverdale’ ahead of season 5. He said,
“I’m leaving ‘Riverdale’ because I got bored creatively. That’s the most honest answer”.
Undoubtedly, viewers have not seen much of Ulrich in the last season, and the consensus is that ‘Riverdale’ is getting wilder for our imagination with each passing season. Ulrich’s decision to give up his Serpents’ jacket and sheriff’s badge might have been pulled from that same string.
‘Riverdale’ is going to be one sheriff down
Skeet Ulrich played FP Jones, a gang leader turned into sheriff, and father to Jughead Jones. FP has evolved from being a drunken gang leader and irresponsible father to Riverdale’s sheriff fighting and solving crimes alongside his son.
However, ‘Riverdale’ being the crazy show that it is, has limited itself to gang wars and bizarre murder mysteries. This, perhaps, has created a sense of “been there, done that” in Ulrich, motivating him to leave. As for the other cast members, Cole Sprouse, the actor who plays Jughead, believes that it is justified for Ulrich to feel bored creatively, especially with a project that follows a repetitive pattern.
The news that has shocked and crushed the many fans of the show, seems to have some grounds in the plot of next season. Season 5 of ‘Riverdale’ is expected to take a time leap into the future, which might have given Skeet Ulrich a way out. The executive producer of the show, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has confirmed that the first three episodes of the season would see an end to the high school years of the characters and, after a time jump of “over four years”, the story would catch up with everyone post-college. A time jump surely provides for multiple options to write Ulrich’s character off in the upcoming season.
Skeet Ulrich will return in ‘Riverdale’ Season 5
Skeet Ulrich had originally intended to leave ‘Riverdale’ ahead of season 5. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, the show had to shut down productions before the Riverdale season 4 finale. There are three more episodes left to wrap up the story of season 4, which has been pushed into season 5. According to Aguirre-Sacasa, the first three episodes of season 5 will pick up from where season 4 had left off, meaning the teenagers will have their much-anticipated senior prom followed by their high school graduation.
Skeet Ulrich will be back for the first three episodes in ‘Riverdale’ Season 5 to finish telling the story left over from season 4. Aguirre-Sacasa believes that it would also be an opportunity to give his character a proper farewell. The show-runner has also made promises of not killing FP Jones off just for the sake of writing him off.
“No, they’ll [Skeet Ulrich and Marisol Nichols] be back for [first three episodes of season 5]…I reached out to Marisol and Skeet and said that we haven’t finished those stories, and we want to make sure that you guys have great sendoffs …The truth of it is, and this isn’t a spoiler, but neither Hermione nor F.P. are being killed. So my hope is that they are a part of Riverdale in a real way as long as there’s a Riverdale”, He told TVLine.
Are you excited for ‘Riverdale’ Season 5? How do you think these characters will be written off if they are not to be killed? Hit the comments to let us know!
