Imagine, if you will, a Riverdale in an alternate universe, where the comics were played for comedy, time travel was a central plotline, and Archie was played by none other than... Louis C.K. Believe it or not, it almost happened.

Thankfully, though, we instead got the 2017 release of Riverdale as we know it, a dark take on an old classic starring Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, and K.J. Apa. In our latest episode of The Dipp's TV. Watch. Repeat. podcast, my co-host Allison Piwowarski and I are joined by Kaitlin Reilly and John Padden of The Riverdale Register podcast to explore the history of the CW series. Throughout the hour-long conversation, we delve into the original script — a big deviation from the one that aired — the evolution of Archie Comics, and the casting choices that made the series what it is today. Plus, don't worry — there's plenty of conversation surrounding Riverdale's questionable era, and, of course, Archie's bear attack. (We can talk for hours about Archie's bear attack.)

Listen to the latest episode of TV. Watch. Repeat., brought to you by ZocDoc, on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out The Riverdale Register for everything you need to know and understand about Season 5 and beyond.

Image: The CW