There Were Legit So Many ‘Riverdale’ References in Last Night’s ‘Katy Keene’

From Cosmopolitan

Katy Keene might be a brand-new character on Riverdale, but she has her own show now, too, which flashes forward to her adventurous life in New York City. Unsurprisingly, the show doesn’t leave Riverdale behind completely. There are enough Riverdale references and Easter eggs on Katy Keene to remind us all that they’re set in the same fictional world, even if Katy’s biggest worries are nothing compared to Betty’s and Veronica’s. Here are some of the ones we saw last night.

Josie’s presence, in general

Riverdale and Archie comics diva Josie McCoy is a character on Katy Keene, which isn’t really an Easter egg but something worth pointing out here as crossover content. And she brought puh-lenty of references to “the town with pep” and all our friends during last night’s ep.

Katy name-dropping Veronica

“Any friend of Veronica Lodge’s is a friend of mine,” Katy says. Do I have a lot of questions about how Veronica and Katy became childhood friends? I absolutely TF do! What was that relationship even like? They’re on opposite ends of the economic spectrum, and when Veronica moved to the ’burbs at the beginning of Riverdale, she admitted to having a mean-girl past. Maybe this was a Jenny and Blair in Gossip Girl situation? I need details.

Josie constantly talking about Riverdale

Josie wears her hometown pride like a badge of honor, and that’s where the bulk of the Katy Keene pilot’s Riverdale Easter eggs come from. When Katy is worried about her new friend going alone to meet a record producer she met in the park (a perfectly worrisome and sketch turn of events), Josie brushes off her concerns. “I’m from Riverdale,” she says. “It is the murder capital of the world. I’ll be fine.” She then name-drops the Pussycats, her short stint singing at Veronica’s speakeasy La Bonne Nuit, and the Black Hood (aka Betty Cooper’s dad, Hal, RIP) later in the episode.

The weird naming conventions

Another weird crossover element from Riverdale, although it’s not exactly an Easter egg, is the quirky fake names for popular brands. Grindr becomes Grindem, American Express becomes American Excess, etc. So far on Katy Keene, the ones that stand out are dive bar Molly’s Crisis instead of piano bar Marie’s Crisis and Lacy’s department store instead of Macy’s department store. In case you were wondering, the exterior of Lacy’s is filmed at Bergdorf Goodman’s flagship on Fifth Avenue, not Macy’s.

More Riverdale goodness will be revealed as Katy Keene continues. Feel free to host a prayer circle that we get any kind of clues about what Archie, Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and Jughead are up to in the future. Let’s hope they’re alive!

You Might Also Like

• 16 Unexpected Fashion Rules That the Royal Family Follows

• The 8 Best Clarifying Shampoos for Getting Rid of Product Buildup

• Here's How to Flawlessly Conceal Your Acne