Lucy Hale To Lead The CW’s Katy Keene In Titular Role

Variety reports that the upcoming CW pilot Katy Keene, a spinoff of its acclaimed teen drama Riverdale, has found its titular star in Pretty Little Liars veteran Lucy Hale.

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The character of Katy is described as a bold, big-hearted and independent 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.

Hale, who’s known for starring in the Freeform hit series Pretty Little Liars and was last seen on the small screen in the short-lived CW dramedy Life Sentence, joins previously cast Camille Hyde (Power Rangers Dino Charge), Lucien Laviscount (Scream Queens), Ashleigh Murray (Riverdale), Jonny Beauchamp (Stonewall) and Julia Chan (Silent House).

In Katy Keene, the 20-something Josie McCoy has left the small town of Riverdale in pursuit of a new adventure in the Big City. More determined than ever to break into the music scene as the next Diana Ross, Josie finds herself forging new friendships, falling into new relationships, and, one day, becoming the star she is destined to be.

Directed by Maggie Kiley, the Riverdale spinoff is a musical dramedy that follows the lives and loves of four iconic Archie Comics characters — including fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene and singer/songwriter Josie McCoy— as they chase their twentysomething dreams in New York City. The 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.

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Much like the Netflix adjacent Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the shows will have a shared branding with their basis in Archie Comics but won’t see any crossing over in the foreseeable future.

Riverdale showrunner Robert Aguirre-Sacasa will co-write the pilot with Michael Grassi. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions will executive produce alongside Aguirre-Sacasa, Grassi and Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater. Warner Bros. Television is the studio.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)