Will Riverdale air a new episode tonight, February 14?

Wednesday nights usually feature new episodes of Riverdale. However, Feb. 14 will be different.

From October to May, when you turn on The CW on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, you expect to see Riverdale: The show about Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones and Veronica Lodge’s adventures in the town of the same name. These events usually lead to darkness, scandals, romance, and even death, as seen earlier in season 2.

Well, for those that tune-in on Wednesday, Feb. 14, you will notice a change in programming: Riverdale will not air a new episode at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW. In fact, season 2 does not return for the rest of the month. Disappointing, right? It’s easy to be, given other comic book-based shows went on a hiatus last week, too.

It’s a multi-week absence for Riverdale, just weeks after the winter break concluded. Why? Well, there’s the Winter Olympics, which started on Feb. 8 and end on the 25th. This consumes television sets all month, so the risk of pitting an episode against an Olympic event may not be worth it.

Another reason? The CW could want the show to run until the end of May, just like the superhero shows do (well, just The Flash, Black Lightning and Arrow this year). So, by taking Riverdale off the air for four weeks, it allows The CW to pace season 2 and extend it as long as intended. Plus, by having the season finale at the end of May, it cuts the time between then and the potential return in early October.

Riverdale wil eventually return to the small screen and satisfy fans of the show. With multiple intriguing storylines in play, including Agent Adams’ status change, it may be enough to keep everyone invested and awaiting the next step of season 2. Stay tuned, because it’s set to be a wild final few months.