Charlie Brooker’s dystopian television series Riverdale. In particular, it suggests that a character who resides in the town of Riverdale is traveling to the location of Black Mirror season 3, episode 4, “San Junipero.” However, the location itself is not enough to substantiate an indisputable connection—here’s why.
In Riverdale’s season 1, episode 12, “Anatomy Of A Murder”, Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) dates a member of the Southside Serpents named Joaquin DeSantos (Rob Raco). In order to evade the police, Joaquin leaves town on a bus with San Junipero as its location. with a happy ending when most of Black Mirror’s endings aren't so happy.
Sadly, Kevin and Joaquin don't get a happy ending like Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) do in "San Junipero". Also, the larger connotation of Riverdale and Black Mirror being connected doesn't hold much weight when considering the history of the name San Junipero in Black Mirror canon as well as the different moments in time that each event occurs. Ultimately, there are a multitude of reasons that conflict with the idea that Riverdale and Black Mirror share a universe.
Why Riverdale & Black Mirror Don’t Share A Universe
Black Mirror’s “San Junipero” exists in the distant future where the consciousnesses of people can be transplanted into a simulation to live on after death. The system is located in a hospital with an undisclosed name, but the 2018 choose your own adventure film, Kelly and Yorkie’s clothing are also part of the Black Museum, meaning that the two episodes are undoubtedly connected.
On the other hand, Riverdale utilizes the name San Junipero as an actual physical location, which it never was and never will be. Riverdale also takes place in the present time, meaning it’s entirely disconnected from the Black Mirror timeline which wouldn't allow them to be on the same trajectory toward ing Kelly and Yorkie’s consciousness in the simulation. It's far more likely that the reference is meant to comment on LBGTQIA+ relationships and overcoming distance. Using San Junipero as a physical location could have also served as a way to foreshadow Joaquin’s sudden death by cyanide poisoning, which mirrors a similarly unexpected fate as Yorkie's in "San Junipero".
Despite the fact that the couples share some similarities in their fates and distance, Riverdale’s reference to “San Junipero” is nothing more than an Easter egg for fans of Brooker’s show. If Riverdale were set closer to the time that the Black Mirror episode takes place, it could have substantiated another argument for their connection but, ultimately, the two shows can't feasibly exist in the same universe.