Riverdale: 20 most important characters on the show
By Reed Gaudens
Riverdale — “Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem for a Welterweight” — Image Number: RVD313a_0012.jpg — Pictured: Ashleigh Murray as Josie — Photo: Shane Harvey/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
11. Josie McCoy
You might not believe Josie an important factor in many of the series’ mysteries, but she often plays a pivotal role out on the outskirts. In the beginning, Josie mostly stuck to her musical ambitions with her Pussycats, which disbanded early into the run thanks to internal tension. But once she ditched the cat ears, she started to hang around more with Archie and the gang.
At first glance, Josie McCoy was the stuck-up daughter of the town’s mayor and high-profile father who was never around, but always had an unfair opinion. She wears her confidence like armor because beneath that confidence lies insecurity.
When she wows the crowd at La Bonne Nuit, she’s who she’s meant to be. Ashleigh Murray, though older in age than the character she plays, taps in to the angst of an ambitious teen and the relatable hunger of a starving artist in a small town.
In all actuality, Josie should be much more important to the series than she is given credit. Not only does her innocence humble the darker themes of the series, but she represents people of color in a predominantly white town and provides a perspective most of her friends couldn’t understand.
Josie will star in the show’s spin-off Katy Keene, putting her recent romance with Archie in jeopardy. One thing’s for sure: Josie McCoy is destined for super-stardom.