“Riverdale” has cast its new Reggie and, um, we’re really looking forward to season 2 now

When we first heard Riverdale recast Reggie because of Ross Butler’s busy schedule as Zach Dempsey on Thirteen Reasons Why, we were pretty bummed. Now, The CW has announced his replacement, Charles Melton, and we are very on board.

Melton, a 25-year-old model and actor, has appeared briefly on Glee and American Horror Story. He’s also modeled for brands like Hollister, Dolce & Gabbana, and MAC Cosmetics.

Here’s our new Reggie

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOLi_tUhiRj

Fun fact: Melton is a football player just like his Riverdale character. He played football at Kansas State University before multiple concussions forced him out of the game. A talent scout then discovered him at an open call in Florida, and the rest is history.

Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told TVLine earlier this year that the show wanted more Reggie.

“We love what Ross did with the role of Reggie [this season], but because of his commitments to other projects, we couldn’t use him nearly as much as we would have liked."

Butler also endorsed the casting of Melton. In a video on Twitter, he thanked the Riverdale team for casting him as an Asian-American. Further, he applauded the show for casting an Asian-American as his replacement. Melton is half Korean, half white and Cherokee.

Until Riverdale season two comes back, we’ll busy ourselves by scrolling through Melton’s Instagram.

Here’s a pic of him with Kathy Bates

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqGC7hgPIM

And here’s Melton using a banana phone

https://www.instagram.com/p/_-dFRxAPBw

Here’s a pic of Melton looking very murdered on AHS: Hotel

https://www.instagram.com/p/99iCAsAPDl

In this photo, Melton eats a reasonable amount of bacon

https://www.instagram.com/p/_Xk5WjAPMS

We cannot wait to see those cheekbones (and acting chops) on the next season of Riverdale. And don’t worry, Ross Butler, we’ll be eagerly looking forward to more Zach Dempsey on Thirteen Reasons Why season two.