Lili Reinhart slams critics for the hate received about her show Riverdale

As Riverdale prepares to bow out for good, star Lili Reinhart has addressed the hate the teen show has received by its critics.

The CW's comic book adaptation centres on Archie (KJ Apa), Betty (Reinhart), Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) as they tackle being teenagers in a town that is rife with sinister happenings and bloodthirsty criminals.

Though it's always had a strong following, Riverdale has haters in equal measure, with many slamming its trashy dramatics and what's been described as 'shoddy writing'.

And after the teen characters were gifted with superpowers in the sixth season, even some of the remaining fans were left scratching their heads and complaining on social media.

As such, with the seventh and final season, set to premiere later this month, some have been celebrating the fact that the show is set end.

Taking to Twitter, one fan who is determined to stick with it until the bitter end said they're 'pretty over it' at this point.

Another, who was less subtle with their choice of words, wrote: "Riverdale is finally over yeaaaah best news."

Similarly, a third added: "Riverdale is over? IT'S FINALLY OVER! WHOOHOO!"

Speaking in defence of the show, Reinhart shared an Instagram Story in which she called out the haters.

The 26-year-old star said: "A**holes saying 'can't wait for this show to end,' like, babe, why does the show have such an impact on your life that you feel the need to make a public comment about it?

"Run along now."

Instagram/@lilireinhart

A screenshot of the post was shared by Pop Crave on Twitter, and it's unsurprisingly divided opinion.

"Queen behavior," wrote one fan, while another said she's 'so real'.

A third added: "She’s right. Y’all are allowed to express your opinions about the show but why would you go into the cast’s comment sections and do it there? Obviously they’re going to defend their work."

On the other side of the fence, plenty of people expressed their reasons for turning against the series.

As said by one Twitter user: "Because the writing hasn’t been great since S2? It’s actively forcing characters that shouldn’t be together, together? It overcomplicates the simplest of answers to a storyline? It tries to be other franchises and fails miserably?

"Take your pick."

Some people feel angry about the fact that shows like Riverdale get seven seasons while other shows have been axed despite their popularity and solid viewing figures.

The CW

"Because we could’ve gotten Society 2 instead of the mess Riverdale is," said one.

Another commented: "How with ratings like that is Riverdale not cancelled, but other much better shows have been unfairly axed."

If you happen to still be a Riverdale fan, you can catch the final season when it debuts on The CW on 29 March.

If you're not, then ignore that last sentence.