The CW
The CW’s hit show Riverdale is airing the midseason finale tonight (even though they’re only on episode 8, which isn’t quite halfway). U.S. fans who have only seen Season 2 on Netflix so far are wanting to know when they can finally start watching Season 3. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a little longer. Riverdale airs on The CW every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern. But it won’t be released on Netflix in the U.S. until it’s late enough to not compete with the new episodes on The CW, sometime in late May 2019. Internationally, however, you can start watching Riverdale Season 3 on Netflix now if you want, because it’s released every week outside the United States.
Outside of the United States, Riverdale is released on Netflix much sooner than that. In the UK, each new episode is released every Thursday, after it airs in the United States, at 8 a.m.
In Canada, new episodes typically premiere around 2 a.m.-3 a.m. on Thursday morning, according to fans in the region.
In Australia, new episodes are online on Thursday nights, but the time varies dpeending on your region. Here’s a handy video explaining when the episode premieres depending on where you live:
Viewers in the United States aren’t so lucky when it comes to Netflix. No episodes from Season 3 are available at this time, and Netflix hasn’t announced an official date for when they will be. But if Netflix follows its pattern with other shows on The CW, then Season 3 will be released on Netflix in the U.S. about a week after the season ends on The CW. This is earlier than other broadcasters release their shows on Netflix because Netflix and The CW have an agreement in place.
In 2016, Netflix and The CW reached an agreement that in the United States, Netflix could stream full seasons for all of The CW’s shows starting eight days after each show’s finale. For example, The 100 Season 4 aired its finale on The CW on May 24, 2017, and Season 4 was released on Netflix on June 1, 2017. Similarly, The Flash Season 3 released on Netflix on May 31, and the final episode for the season premiered on The CW on May 23.
This past year, Riverdale Season 2 premiered on Netflix in the U.S. on May 24, about a week after the season ended on The CW. So this year, you’ll likely see Season 3 on Netflix around the end of May 2019. Riverdale will have about 22 episodes this season, but an official date for the season finale has not yet been announced.
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