Riverdale creators develop Afterlife With Archie series for Disney+
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Disney+ has greenlit a television adaptation of "Afterlife With Archie," the zombie-horror comic series, from the team behind The CW's "Riverdale." Variety confirmed the order, which reunites several of the creative figures behind that long-running Archie Comics franchise; the project had first been reported as in development at the streamer in 2025 under a script-to-series commitment, and Disney+ is now targeting a potential launch around Halloween 2027.
The series, based on the comic by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla, follows Archie and his friends battling an army of the possessed dead after a spell cast by a teenage witch backfires on Riverdale, testing the friendships and loyalties central to the original story. Aguirre-Sacasa wrote the script and executive produces via Muckle Man Productions, alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman of Berlanti Productions, Jon Goldwater of Archie Comics Studios and Jimmy Gibbons. Warner Bros. Television is the studio.
- Disney+ orders "Afterlife With Archie" series from "Riverdale" creators
- Zombie-horror comic adaptation targets a Halloween 2027 launch
- Reunites Aguirre-Sacasa, Berlanti and Schechter from the "Riverdale" team
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Disney+ has ordered a live-action series based on "Afterlife With Archie," a horror comic that reimagines the wholesome Archie Comics characters facing a zombie outbreak in their hometown of Riverdale. The project comes from many of the same people behind The CW's teen drama "Riverdale," which ran for several years and was itself based on Archie Comics characters, though this new show is a separate, darker spin-off rather than a continuation of that series.
The comic was created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla, and Aguirre-Sacasa has written the script and is producing the television version alongside Greg Berlanti's production company and Archie Comics' own studio arm. Warner Bros. Television is making the show, and Disney+ is the streaming service that will air it, with an eye toward launching it around Halloween.
This matters because it shows how Archie Comics, once known mainly for light-hearted small-town stories, continues to be reworked into darker, horror-tinged television, and because it reunites a creative team whose earlier show built a large following. It also marks a notable licensing deal, bringing an Archie Comics property to Disney's streaming platform.
More coverage
- The Hollywood Reporter — ‘Afterlife With Archie’ Series a Go at Disney+ With ‘Riverdale’ Team Reuniting
- Deadline — ‘Afterlife With Archie’ Series Based On Comic Ordered By Disney+, Gets Halloween 2027 Premiere
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Originally published by Variety as “‘Afterlife With Archie’ Series From ‘Riverdale’ Team Greenlit at Disney+”.