Chilling “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” Revival

BY Dominique Price

Staff Reporter

On Oct. 26, Netflix released its new adaptation of the “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” tale with its series “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”

The original American family sitcom, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” was first released on Sept. 27, 1996 and aired until April 24, 2003.  It followed the 1996 movie, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” which served as the pilot for the sitcom.

The movie starred Melissa Joan Hart as the main character, Sabrina Sawyer, which was later changed to Sabrina Spellman in the sitcom.

The show chronicles the adventures of Sabrina Spellman, a girl who discovers that she is a witch on her sixteenth birthday. Her aunts, Hilda and Zelda Spellman, who are played by Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick, counsel her on the proper use of her magic and give her moral advice.

Like the 2013 animated series – this hasn’t been the first reboot of the series –  “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is very different from the original family sitcom.

The series turns the original sitcom into a Gothic horror series. It stars Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina, the half-human, half-witch star of the show. It takes on heavier topics as well as explores dark side of what it takes to be a witch.

“I like the new take on the series as a gothic horror. I find it much more compelling than the original so far and I am interested to see how it plays out,” said sophomore Tabatha Maxime.

In both live-action versions, the 1996 sitcom and the 2018 series, the main characters are the same. Sabrina lives with her aunt Hilda who is now played by Lucy Davis and her aunt Zelda who is now played by Miranda Otto. Her love interest is Harvey Kinkle, who is now played by Ross Lynch.

According to Netflix, Sabrina’s mysterious black cat, Salem, unlike being originally human in the family sitcom, is now considered a familiar, which are goblins who have taken on the shape of animals to better serve their witch masters.

“It’s nothing like the 90’s sassy, mean Salem at all. That’s its own thing that we’re not going to try to compete with or be in the slightest because you can’t live up to that in any way,” said Shipka.

The series still takes place in Greendale, like the original sitcom. Greendale is the neighboring town to Riverdale, located on the opposite side of the Sweetwater River, in the American drama series, “Riverdale.”

“I love the show ‘Riverdale,’ and it would be amazing if there was a crossover between it and the new series, ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.’  I can’t wait for what each of the seasons have in store for us,” said junior Gianna Nutile.

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