Ashleigh Murray’s Quotes About Josie Returning to ‘Riverdale’

She’s back and better than ever! Ashleigh Murray made her triumphant return to Riverdale in September 2021 as Josie McCoy. After initially leaving the show for a starring role in Katy Keene — which was canceled after just one season on the air — Ashleigh returned to the fictional murder capital of the world and brought the Pussycats with her.

The show’s executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa teased the group’s reappearance on Riverdale a month before the “The Return of the Pussycats” episode premiered.

“This is very much a triumphant return for the girls,” he told TVLine in August 2021. “The episode is all about them, and they are spectacular in it.”

Before stealing the show, Ashleigh agreed with the showrunner.

“The reality is, I’ve always seen Josie as a superstar,” the CW star told Entertainment Weekly in September 2021. “It really wasn’t so foreign to find that comfort in where Josie is now. The biggest difference was being able to give her an emotional life that we hadn’t been able to see. I think that’s really what it’s about, is seeing Josie as a human with emotions and with problems and with struggles, which is something that I feel like viewers have been asking for for a long time.”

Throughout the episode, fans watch as Josie, Mallory (Hayley Law) and Melody (Asha Bromfield) reunite in Riverdale after finding their own successes in adulthood. Remember, earlier this season, the entire cast experienced a seven-year time jump which brought them from high school graduation straight into adulthood.

While Josie is already a successful artist in her own right, she recruits the other two members of the Pussycats to assist her with writing and recording a new album about their hometown. As it turned out, while Josie was away getting famous, her father died. But his close fright thinks it might have been a murder. So, while Josie and the Pussycats head on tour, their first stop is to see if they can uncover the truth about their leader’s dad. What remains to be seen is if this is the last time viewers will see Josie and the Pussycats in Riverdale.

“I wanted to show Josie with all of her colors and to feel confident about that and to not worry about the episode cutting away from her too soon so you don’t really know what she’s about or where she’s going or what’s going on or how she feels about anything,” Ashleigh also told EW. “This episode showcases her from beginning to end, and whatever that end may be or lead to is for us all to find out, but at least you have a full picture of what’s going on.”

Scroll through our gallery to see what else Ashleigh said about the return of Josie.

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