Katy Keene (TV series)

This article is about the TV series. You may be looking for the aspiring fashion designer of the same name.

Katy Keene
Information
Original run	February 6, 2020 - May 14, 2020
Creator	Michael Grassi
Network	The CW
Seasons	1

Katy Keene is a television series on The CW. The series is an offshoot of the CW's Riverdale, a series based in the same universe, that centers around a group of teenagers (Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, and Veronica Lodge) living in a town of the same name. On May 7, 2019, the CW announced that Katy Keene had been ordered to series.

It premiered on Thursday, February 6, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

On July 2, 2020, the network announced that the series was cancelled and would not be returning for a second season. While they did actively look for a new home for the spin-off series, they were ultimately unsucessful.

Premise

A Riverdale spinoff, KATY KEENE follows the lives and loves of four iconic Archie Comics characters — including fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene — as they chase their twenty-something dreams in New York City. This musical dramedy chronicles the origins and struggles of four aspiring artists trying to make it on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio.

Synopsis

A RIVERDALE spinoff, KATY KEENE follows the lives and loves of four iconic Archie Comics characters — fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene (Lucy Hale), singer/songwriter Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), performer Jorge Lopez/Ginger (Jonny Beauchamp), and “It Girl” Pepper Smith (Julia Chan) — as they chase their twenty-something dreams in New York City…together. Katy designs clothes for anyone she can, including her friend and roommate Josie, whose singing talent catches the attention of Alexander Cabot (Lucien Laviscount), a CEO who hopes to reboot the record label division of his father’s corporate empire. But Alexander’s dream of signing Josie to a recording contract meets resistance from Cabot Media’s powerful senior vice president Alexandra (Camille Hyde), who also happens to be his twin sister. Josie and Katy’s roommate Jorge works at his family’s bodega and has his eye on Broadway, but after a series of rejections, he hopes to take his drag performance career as Ginger to the next level. The mysterious Pepper Smith plans to open her own version of Andy Warhol’s Factory. She has the connections, but no one seems to know where she got her money — or if she really has any at all. Katy struggles to manage the pressures of her day job at Lacy’s Department Store and her very demanding boss, Gloria (Katherine LaNasa), who is a legendary personal shopper. But Katy has the support of her longtime boyfriend, KO Kelly (Zane Holtz), who has his own dream of becoming a professional boxer. As these aspiring artists take on the runway, the recording studio, Broadway, and the NYC social scene, they will find more than just a career in the big city — they’ll find long-lasting friendship. Executive produced by Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (“Supergirl,” “Glee”), Michael Grassi (“Riverdale,” “Supergirl”), Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) and Jon Goldwater (Archie Comics Publisher & CEO), KATY KEENE is from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios.

Cast

Main Cast

• Lucy Hale as Katy Keene
• Zane Holtz as KO Kelly
• Katherine LaNasa as Gloria Grandbilt
• Camille Hyde as Alexandra Cabot
• Lucien Laviscount as Alexander Cabot
• Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy
• Jonny Beauchamp as Jorge/Ginger Lopez
• Julia Chan as Pepper Smith

Crew

Writers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Michael Grassi Shauna McGarry Alina Mankin Leo Richardson Davia Carter Will Ewing Mia Katherine Iverson Neil McNeil Sara Saedi Evelyn Yves

Directors Maggie Kiley Steven A. Adelson Harry Jierjian Pamela Romanowsky Ryan Shiraki Charles Randolph-Wright Gregory Smith Jessica Lowrey Alex Pillai Lea Thompson Producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Michael Grassi Greg Berlanti Sarah Schechter Jon Goldwater

Character Descriptions

• Katy Keene: Bold, big hearted and independent, Katy Keene is a twenty-something New Yorker who aspires to be a fashion designer. When she's not working as a personal shopper at a luxury department store, she's navigating friendship and dating in the big city.
• KO Kelly: A boxer with two goals in life: to fight a welterweight championship in Madison Square Garden and to marry his longtime girlfriend, Katy Keene. Born and raised in Queens, Ko is a humble, protective, salt-of-the-earth guy who makes ends meet as a personal trainer and a bouncer.
• Gloria Grandbilt: A legendary personal shopper at the luxury department store Lacy's, which caters to the rich and famous. Always impeccably dressed and the queen of her domain, she demands a level of excellence from her "girls," young assistants that few can provide.
• Alexandra Cabot: A powerful, savvy and chic New York socialite who is an SVP at her father's company. Both respected and feared, Alexandra is competitive with her brother, who has a very different vision for the record label.
• Alexander Cabot: The CEO of his father's company who dreams of rebooting its dormant record label division, which attracts him to Josie. He's cut from a different cloth than his billionaire family, as he'd rather take the subway and listen to vinyl, and he secretly DJs at a dive club.
• Jorge/Ginger Lopez: By day, Jorge works at his family's bodega. By night, his drag alter ego Ginger bartends and performs at a local club. Jorge always has aspired to be a Broadway performer, but he's now looking to take his drag career to the next level.
• Pepper Smith: A New York City "It Girl" who is at the epicenter of all things trendy. As the funny, magnetic life of the party, she dreams of opening her very own version of Andy Warhol's Factory. But behind all the outrageous noise, no one quite knows where she gets all her money — or if she even has any.

Development

On August 6, 2018, network president Mark Pedowitz made the announcement at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.

Although the series "will be very different from Riverdale", both network president Mark Pedowitz and Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, hope to present it as a companion series for a possible slot in the 2019-2020 television season.

While they have confirmed the series, Aguirre-Sacasa, who also oversees Netflix's supernatural drama Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, declined to reveal whether the series would consist of characters previously introduced during Riverdale's two prior seasons.

On January 23, 2019, the CW announced that Katy Keene had received a pilot order. Katy Keene, centered around Veronica’s cousin and her friends in New York City, is the second Riverdale spinoff. The First, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, started on the CW before moving to Netflix where it has been a breakout hit.

Casting for the roles went underway and the pilot shoot in March 2019, in New York.

The series takes places years after Riverdale High School and there would not be a crossover episode to introduce the Archie universe character.

It was later announced on May 7, 2019, that the CW had ordered Katy Keene to series.

The CW had ordered 13 more scripts of "Katy Keene" a month ahead of its series premiere on Feb. 6.

However due to the COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown, it was reported that the series wouldn't return for a second season.

Trivia

• Katy Keene is the second spin-off and third series to come from the Archie Comics universe, the first two being Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
• The events of the series Katy Keene take place 5 years after the fourth season of Riverdale.

External links

• Katy Keene on The CW
• Katy Keene on Wikipedia
• Follow Katy Keene (TV series) (@CWKatyKeene) on Twitter
• Follow Katy Keene (TV series) (@CW_KatyKeene) on Instagram
• Follow Katy Keene (TV series) (@CWKatyKeene) on Facebook