Well, that’s one way to set the mood! It’s tough to imagine a CW teen drama without kissing scenes — so they’re just making sure it’s safe. Due to the coronavirus, there are new protocols in place before that can happen.
For Riverdale, it means everyone’s mouths are clean!
“Our new normal is washing our mouths before every take of a make-out scene,” KJ Apa wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, September 23. In the video, he and Camila Mendes must gargle with mouthwash for a minute. A woman off camera tells them when they’re 30 seconds in and when they have 10 seconds remaining, then when they can spit it.
The Dangerous Lies star, who portrays Veronica Lodge on the Archie Comics show, reposted the video on her Instagram Story, adding the champagne cheers emoji.
The cast, which also includes Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart, quarantined in Canada for two weeks before kicking off filming on September 14. The group will first finish filming the final three episodes of season 4 before getting into season 5, which features a seven-year time jump.
The Chemical Hearts actress, 24, recently opened up about the upcoming season and catching up on filming, which means the cast will be on set from September through the holidays and are unable to fly back to the U.S.
“I genuinely feel like a prisoner, going back to work, because I cannot leave Canada. That doesn’t feel good,” Reinhart told Nylon magazine earlier this month. “You can’t go home for Thanksgiving, can’t visit your family. No one can come visit you unless they quarantine for two weeks. It just feels f–ked.”
During an interview with Jimmy Fallon, the Swimming Lessons author also added that since they stopped filming midway through an episode, it will be “very easy” to see which scenes will filmed in March vs. September.
“We’re all going to be significantly tanner,” she said on The Tonight Show last month. “Maybe I’ve gained weight during quarantine, so I’ll look a little different.”
Riverdale is set to return to The CW in 2021.