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Ashley Murray aka. Josie McCoy left Riverdale because she was cast as the co-lead on The CW's 2020 show, Katy Keene.
Katy Keene followed the personal and romantic lives of four Archie Comics characters, including fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene and singer-songwriter Josie McCoy.
While Lucy Hale portrayed Katy Keene, Josie McCoy was portrayed by Ashleigh Murray. The show was set five years after the events of Riverdale as our heroes chased their dreams in New York City.
The show was unfortunately canceled after one season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the series finale, it was announced that it would be part of HBO Max's debut lineup as an exclusive.
Ashley Murray's Josie McCoy briefly returned to Riverdale in Season 5
Riverdale Season 5 Episode 15 titled Chapter Ninety-One: The Return of the Pussycats saw Ashleigh Murray briefly return to the show for an episode. The episode aired on September 8, 2021, and saw Josie McCoy returning to Riverdale to seek inspiration for her new album.
At the end of the episode, she boarded a bus and left the town again. In a previous interview, the actress opened up about her role and was delighted at being able to give Josie some proper closure.
She said:
"Roberto (Aguirre-Sacasa, Riverdale's showrunner) pitched the idea to me as a chance to give Josie some closure because at that point, prior to shooting this episode, we'd only seen Josie in her childhood and then in her very young adulthood on Katy Keene"
She continued:
"And in each of those places, she was struggling and striving to become a superstar. Unfortunately, after the cancellation of Katy Keene, we didn't get to explore her making her dream come true, so this episode idea came about as an option to pay some homage to the Katy Keene years that we lost and also be able to pay proper homage to who Josie is in the comic books, which is a superstar."
Playing Josie McCoy again was a tough experience for Murray since she was supposed to face the past and be honest about the friendships she felt like she had.
Ashleigh Murray has also featured in films and shows like Tom Swift, Rugrats, Alex, Inc., Valley Girl, Welcome to New York, etc.
What is Riverdale about?
Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Riverdale is an American supernatural horror crime drama television series based on the characters of Archie Comics. The main cast is based on the characters of Archie Comics, with KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, the series narrator.
The synopsis of the show, according to Rotten Tomatooes, reads:
"Archie Andrews starts the school year with the world weighing on his shoulders. He's decided he wants to pursue a future in the music business, but his recently ended clandestine relationship with the music teacher has left him without a mentor, and his friendship with Jughead Jones is in a bad place."
It further states:
"Things look like they might be turning around when Veronica Lodge, a new girl, arrives. Despite the instant chemistry, Veronica is hesitant to risk a friendship with Betty -- who has a crush on Archie -- to pursue anything. Amidst all the small-town banality lurks a mystery: the recent tragic death of Jason Blossom, the twin brother of beautiful and popular troublemaker, Cheryl."
Riverdale Season 7 will premiere on March 29, 2023. It will be the series' final season.
