YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

'Riverdale''s New Street Drug Jingle Jangle Is Actually A Trippy 'Archie' Throwback

What the hell is Jingle Jangle???

The first season of Riverdale revealed that Clifford Blossom's maple syrup empire was actually a very elaborate front for the real product he was peddling: heroin. So, how does the CW series follow-up a covert heroin operation? With a new and improved street drug called — wait for it — Jingle Jangle.

All the kids in Riverdale are trying it. Apparently.

Once again, Lili Reinhart is all of us.

In the most recent episode of Riverdale ("Chapter Fifteen: Nighthawks"), Midge scores some Jingle Jangle for her and her boyfriend Moose from New Reggie. The deal goes down in the parking lot outside Pop Chock'lit Shoppe, which seems to be a hot spot for crime these days.

At the end of the episode, Midge and Moose try the Jingle Jangle — it looks like a Pixie Stix — in Moose's car in the middle of the woods. Everything's all fine and good until the hooded killer who shot Fred and killed Grundy (a.k.a. Black Hood) returns out of nowhere and SHOOTS THEM, totally killing their vibe. (And maybe them?) Anyway, don't do drugs, kids!!!

Clearly, Jingle Jangle is going to play a significant role this season, and it seems pretty obvious that Riverdale's resident Nancy Drew, Betty Cooper, is going to find herself wrapped up in the middle of all of it. "I never would have thought that I'd say the term 'Jingle Jangle' as much as I do," actress Lili Reinhart told Cosmopolitan. "It's kind of hilarious but it grows on you. We all just kind of came to terms with the fact that it's Riverdale and you can say Jingle Jangle and Jingle Jangle can be the name of a drug."

To be fair, this is also a town that calls a sex act a "sticky maple" so Jingle Jangle seems pretty appropriate, all things considered.

But Jingle Jangle is also a reference to the name of a 1969 song by The Archies, the fictional band made up of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, and, yes, even Reggie Mantle. "Jingle Jangle" reached no. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 — their second biggest hit after their no. 1 single "Sugar Sugar" — and once you watch the trippy music video, you'll probably know why.

Honestly, it's like everyone was on Jingle Jangle in the 60s and 70s.

Earlier this month Archie Comics launched a new ongoing Archies series from writers Alex Segura and Matt Rosenberg, with art by Joe Eisma. In it, Archie and his bandmates hit the road to pursue their rock and roll dreams, where they'll meet some real-life bands along the way.

Back in August, MTV News exclusively revealed that indie band Chvrches would be the first IRL act to crossover to the Archie-verse and guest star in the ink-and-color pages of The Archies.

So if you want to get a taste of the Jingle Jangle without actually breaking any laws, you might want to pick up The Archies #1, currently on shelves.

Latest News