The characters from the iconic American comic book series Archie Comics are moving into TV.
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A series is in development which would put the Archie "gang" - Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones - onto the small screen.
It could also feature other characters from the Archie "universe", such as Josie and the Pussycats band members Valerie, Melody and roadie Alan and characters from Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
The series, which is to be titled Riverdale, after the small American town where the comics are set, is being steered by television producer Greg Berlanti, the man behind TV reboots of comic books such as Arrow and The Flash.
Berlanti is also working on a TV adaptation of Supergirl.
Although the Archie Comics were not well known in Australia, the animated television spin-offs were staples of Saturday morning TV viewing during the 1970s and 1980s.
They included 1968's The Archie Show, 1970's Josie and the Pussycats and 1972's Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space.
But the live action reboot proposed by Berlanti will, according to US media reports, have touches of Twin Peaks.
It is a "bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surreality of small-town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale's wholesome facade," according to the trade publication Deadline.
The project will be written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who was earlier this year named chief creative officer of Archie Comics.
Aguirre-Sacasa notably wrote two best-selling Archie book series with supernatural themes: Afterlife With Archie and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Aguirre-Sacasa has said he hopes the iconic Archie Comics brand can emulate the success of Marvel and DC Comics in the live action genre.
"Comic book TV shows have kind of exploded, and honestly, Archie's media presence and Archie's relevancy, which every year I think gets deeper and more profound, [continues] to happen," Aguirre-Sacasa said.
"Something we talk a lot about is, 'Imagine if Riverdale were like Twin Peaks' and was a really weird small town," he added. "Twin Peaks had some very funny black humour stuff to it [but] obviously it was very serious as well."
"That kind of balance is what we're going to try to strike with the show."
