Riverdale’s “The – A 1995 coming-of-age cult classic keeps echoing on TV—most recently through Riverdale’s third-season flashback episode “The Midnight Club,” which honored The Breakfast Club by reframing its iconic idea through younger versions of on-screen parents.
The idea is simple, and that’s why it still lands: five teenagers, five very different lives, one forced moment together. In 1995, John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club became a cult classic by centering a detention that pulled strangers into the same room—and made them talk.
The film’s cast helped turn that setup into a cultural touchstone. Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson quickly found success through their involvement in the iconic coming-of-age story.
It’s that kind of influence that outlived the movie itself. When Ringwald later joined The CW’s Riverdale in 2017. The Breakfast Club returned in a very specific way: the series’ third season included a special flashback episode titled “The Midnight Club.” The homage worked through casting choices. with the main actors playing younger versions of their onscreen parents.
That move matters because it treats the spirit of The Breakfast Club—its focus on character revelations and the friction of being put together—like something you can translate to a new cast and a new timeline without losing the emotional payoff.
The Breakfast Club Riverdale The Midnight Club Molly Ringwald John Hughes CW TV show episode inspired by The Breakfast Club Ally Sheedy Anthony Michael Hall Emilio Estevez Judd Nelson
So basically Breakfast Club but with Riverdale parents? lol
I watched the clip and it felt kinda sweet but also like they just slapped the vibe onto a different show. Idk if it was detention again or not, but the whole “forced to talk” thing is still the best part.
Isn’t Riverdale the one with all the weird cult stuff? So I’m like, why are they doing Breakfast Club nostalgia instead of, yknow, the actual plot. Kinda feels backwards. Also I thought Molly Ringwald was a main character in Riverdale? maybe I’m mixing it up.
John Hughes basically invented group therapy before it was a thing. The article says they used younger versions of the parents and that’s what got me, like okay cool so it’s the same concept but different people. I’m just surprised it’s “still lands” like 30 years later when half these CW episodes don’t even land, you know? Anyway The Midnight Club sounds like a comfort episode for sure, not gonna lie.