Ulrich will play the leader of the Southside Serpents, a group of ne’er-do-wells with their origins in the old Little Archie comic books. His character reportedly has a history with many of the town’s residents, including a long-standing grudge with Archie’s dad Fred Andrews, played by Luke Perry. (Said grudge presumably involving a bitter turf war for control of teenage girls’ bedroom walls circa 1996.) He also apparently has some sort of connection to Cole Sprouse’s Jughead, with the implication being that the gang leader might be the slacker’s secret dad. (Or possibly a version of Jughead from the future, if Berlanti and company decide to bring 1991’s Jughead’s Time Police into the show’s soapy continuity.)
Ulrich will make his first appearance in the show’s fourth episode. Riverdale debuts some time next year.