Lili Reinhart Feels 'Like A Prisoner' Returning To Riverdale Set Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic

Dark teen soap Riverdale has thrown a teen or two in jail as part of the plot, but the young actors aren’t supposed to feel imprisoned by the juggernaut drama.

Unfortunately, this season, it seems like that’s the case. Coronavirus has radically altered many normal routines and procedures, and set life is no exception. The cast recently returned to Vancouver to finish filming their interrupted fourth season before beginning the fifth, except they won’t be able to leave the country until Christmas.

Speaking with Nylon magazine, the characteristically upfront Lili Reinhart gave her very honest opinion about the measures being taken to allow for filming. She said:

“I genuinely feel like a prisoner, going back to work, because I cannot leave Canada. That doesn’t feel good. You can’t go home for Thanksgiving, can’t visit your family. No one can come visit you unless they quarantine for two weeks. It just feels f**ked.”

The strict quarantine rules weren’t the only wrinkle in returning to the hit CW show. Lili also alluded to how months of lockdown in sunny California might affect how the Archie gang is portrayed in the doom and gloom of the titular town. She explained:

“We stopped during the prom episode, so I have to fit back in that prom dress. Five months later, we’re all going to be tan, maybe a little bit thicker. I certainly am.”

Nylon hinted at the 23-year-old’s frustration that being stuck in Canada prevents the young cast from working on other projects during their hiatus. Reinhart herself has begun to branch out of the Riverdale world with films like the recent Chemical Hearts and a small breakout role in Hustlers. She told the mag:

“I’m very lucky, but it’s like, ‘I need to keep going. I need to keep going.'”

The lengths to which the comic book adaptation has gone to secure its next season may bring to mind extreme conditions on the set from the past. You may recall back in 2017 when the show, still in its first year, came under fire after star KJ Apa fell asleep at the wheel following a 16-hour shoot. (He was luckily uninjured, but the car was totaled.) It begs the question whether it’s really necessary for a teen soap to go back into production if it’s going to put the cast and crew at risk, which considering there’s not yet an end in sight for the pandemic, it undoubtedly will.

Unfortunately, we suspect a lot of shows and movies will be making the same calculation as Riverdale in the coming months. We just hope that the safety measures put in place will keep everyone safe on set — and that someone is considering the mental toll for all the actors and crew members isolated for our entertainment.

[Image via Nicky Nelson/WENN & WBTV/YouTube]