A You Star Is Going To Be Riverdale's Next Major Villain

Riverdale may be leaving the horrors of Rivervale behind, but the rest of Season 6 will still have some pretty scary new threats. Chief among them is a powerful new character who has big plans for the town... plans that Archie definitely doesn’t agree with. His name, Percival Pickens, will sound familiar to hardcore Riverdale fans, and his face will look familiar to anyone who watched Season 3 of You.

Every season of Riverdale needs a big bad, and it sounds like Percival Pickens is going to serve as the villain of Season 6. Chris O’Shea has been cast to play the mysterious new character, per Deadline, and Percival definitely sounds like an intimidating adversary. According to the casting announcement, he will come to Riverdale in hopes of transforming the town into a “utopia” through his charming manipulations, but his “dark agenda” will put him at odds with Archie specifically.

The Pickens name should sound familiar to Riverdale fans. Back in Season 2, the show introduced its town-wide holiday Pickens Day in honor of Riverdale’s founder, General Augustus Pickens. As his name suggests, Percival is a descendent of the town’s founder, which will definitely add to his gravitas and stake in controlling Riverdale.

As for the guy playing him, O’Shea has recurred in TV shows like Baby Daddy and Madam Secretary, but he is probably most recognizable from his role as Andrew in Netflix’s You Season 3.

Andrew is one of the residents of Madre Linda who grows close with Joe and Love after they move there. But the character was much more of a follower than a leader, so taking on the much darker role of Percival will definitely show a whole new side of O’Shea.

From his description, it sounds like Percival will be as manipulative as Edgar Evernever and as power-hungry as Hiram Lodge, who is officially gone from the show now. He isn’t the only bad guy in Season 6, though. TBK is still at large, and there’s likely going to be something weird for Jughead to deal with, as always.

Riverdale Season 6 will return from hiatus with a new episode on Sunday, March 6, at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.