Since wrapping her 137-episode run on Riverdale about two years ago, Lili Reinhart’s been determined to craft a filmography with intention. As she noted during our Collider Ladies Night conversation, she’s always been picky about the work she takes on, but in this next stage of her career, her time on Riverdale is giving her the opportunity to say no and only do films and shows “that make sense or speak to me in certain ways,” and she’s going to take it.

Thus far, that mentality is working in Reinhart’s favor big time. This year she celebrated the release of American Sweatshop, a wildly intense and deeply chilling tale of a social media moderator responsible for ridding the internet of the most offensive content, and the toll that job takes on her. That movie, which features a exceptional lead performance from Reinhart is available to buy or rent on digital platforms. Next year the one to keep an eye on is Forbidden Fruits, in which Reinhart plays Apple, the leader of a coven called The Fruits that operates out of a Free People-like store in the mall. With an ensemble that includes Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, and Lola Tung, there’s no doubt Forbidden Fruits will make waves when it hits theaters in 2026.

But, a very special something you don’t have to wait for? Hal & Harper, a limited series that’s quietly one of the best new shows of 2026. From the mind of Cha Cha Real Smooth writer, director, and star, Cooper Raiff, Hal & Harper stars Reinhart opposite Raiff as the title brother and sister. Throughout eight episodes, the show explores Hal and Harper’s codependent relationship, digging into the benefits of having an impossibly loving and supportive sibling, while also showing how that dynamic is holding them back. In order to do that to the fullest, the show also cuts back to pivotal points in Hal and Harper’s childhood, scenes during which Raiff makes the bold decision to have him and Reinhart play the seven and nine-year-old versions of their characters — to great effect.

Between American Sweatshop and Hal & Harper, Reinhart doesn’t just go two-for-two in 2025, but she starts to lock in the fact that she’s an undeniable star, an actor with range that Riverdale only scratched the surface of. Plus, it also proves that that pickiness is paying off. “Where you have maybe 25% control of your career, in that industry, I want to feel that I milked that percentage of what I could control.” So far, so good in that respect.

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