Why isn’t Riverdale season 5 on Netflix?

The Riverdale season 5 finale aired Wednesday, Oct. 6 on The CW. Per the deal between WarnerMedia, ViacomCBS, and Netflix, the newest season should have landed on the streamer today Wednesday, Oct. 14. However, it didn’t and Riverdale season 5 isn’t listed as an offering on the platform.

UPDATE: Riverdale season 5 is now on Netflix. 

There’s been no word on why this is, but the show isn’t the first CW original whose Netflix drop has been delayed. Both Legacies season 3 and Legends of Tomorrow season 6 have yet to come to the streamer as well.

In the case of Legacies, Netflix US fans of the series have been waiting since June for the newest season to release. Fans of Legends of Tomorrow haven’t had nearly as long of a wait, but it’s been over a month since the season 6 finale aired.

These delays are unusual as it’s been the case for years that Netflix subscribers can expect to see their favorite CW shows, that premiered before the end of the deal in 2019, to land on the streamer eight days after their finale episodes.

What could be causing these delays? How will this effect Riverdale season 5’s release on Netflix? We can only speculate but, unfortunately, we could be headed into winter before the fifth season of the series comes to the streamer.

Why is Riverdale season 5 not on Netflix?

The pandemic, like with most of the 2020-2021 TV season, seriously messed up The CW’s release schedule. Fall shows that typically finish airing in the spring were wrapping their seasons up while we were well into the summer.

Midseason shows were finishing up just as the 2021 Fall TV line-up was set to debut. For instance, Roswell, New Mexico likely had a 2-hour season finale so that the show wasn’t trying to conclude its third season in the middle of Fall TV kicking into gear on the channel.

But it’s not the midseason shows that are dealing with a delayed release on Netflix. Yes, Dynasty season 4 is outside the 8-day window for release considering the finale aired Friday, Oct. 1 and it won’t be coming to the streamer until Friday, Oct. 22 but fans aren’t being left in limbo wondering when it will hit Netflix.

In the Dark season 3 is available to stream on the platform now and Roswell, New Mexico‘s third season makes its land on Tuesday, Oct. 26. That just leaves us with questions about Legacies, Legends of Tomorrow, and Riverdale‘s Netflix release dates which is interesting considering they’re all fall shows.

Could their Netflix releases have been held for this very reason? Legacies was the only fall show to conclude its run in June. All American and The Flash finished in July and came to the streamer that same month. Legends of Tomorrow finished in September and Riverdale season 5 just wrapped.

Perhaps The CW wanted some of their fall shows to drop on Netflix during the new Fall TV season to encourage viewers to catch up if they’ve fallen behind. If that’s the case then we could see Legacies and Legends of Tomorrow come to the streamer in November.

As for Riverdale, well, it could come next month, but it’s entirely possible we may have to wait a little longer than that for season 5 to land on Netflix.

Riverdale season 5 release date on Netflix predictions

If the CW shows left to drop on the streamer are staggered so that one drops every week starting now, then we could see Riverdale season 5 land on the platform the same week that the sixth season premieres on the channel. So, we’d be looking at a date sometime in the week of November 14. However, if they’re staggered more than that then it could be December before the fifth season comes to Netflix.

It all depends on whether or not WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS are willing to drop a previous season of Riverdale on Netflix before, in the middle of, or after the five episode season 6 event that’ll involve a crossover with the Netflix original series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

We’ll keep you posted on more Riverdale season 5 Netflix release date news. While we don’t anticipate Netflix US subscribers having to wait until 2022 to see the season make its land, we do think we’re in for more of a wait than fans could have expected. Stay tuned to Netflix Life!