Sabrina Spellman, half human and half witch, has waited her whole life for her sixteenth birthday. But something evil is coming, forcing her to choose between the path of light and the path of night.

Coming to Netflix in October, comes The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, a new series based on the comic book of the same name published by Archie Comics’ horror imprint, which itself took the characters from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and gave them a darker take. 

This isn’t the first time the character, who originally appeared in Archie Comics in 1962, has been adapted for television. In 1970, Filmation produced Sabrina The Teenage Witch Show, a spin-off of the popular The Archies series. This also included appearances of Sabrina’s cousins (at least in the Filmation series), The Groovie Ghoulies. In 1996, a television movie featuring the character, and starring Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina, also led to a series that ran on ABC for seven seasons. In 1999, an animated series, Sabrina The Animated Series, based on the show ran for one season in syndication. Another animated series, Sabrina: Secrets Of The Teenage Witch was shown on The Hub network, featuring Sabrina as a witch princess, who is destined to rule the magic world as it’s queen.

Unlike the previous television adaptations, The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina takes the character and brings us a coming of age story that features horror, the occult, and witchcraft. The series is produced by Warner Brothers Television and Berlanti Productions, who produce Riverdale for the CW. Films such as The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and other satanic horror films of the 60’s and 70’s were an inspiration for this new series.

The Cast of the series includes:

Kiernan (Mad Men) Shipka has the title role as Sabrina Spellman, who is trying to maintain a normal teenage life attending Baxter High, while at the same time beginning her dark education as a sorceress.

Lucy (Shaun of the Dead, Wonder Woman) Davis plays one of Sabrina’s aunts, Hilda Spellman, who is motherly in nature, and skilled at brewing potions.

Miranda (The Two Towers, The Return Of The King) Otto plays Sabrina’s other aunt, Zelda Spellman, who is more sterner than Hilda, and very protective of Sabrina. She is also a member of the Church of Night, devout to the Dark Lord.

Chance (Killed By My Debt) Perdomo plays Sabrina’s British cousin, and partner in crime, Ambrose Spellman, who is forbidden from leaving the Spellman house, after being placed under house arrest by the Witch’s Council.

Jaz (Slenderman) Sinclair plays Rosalind Walker. A brash and outspoken human who is also Sabrina’s best friend, and who’s father is the local minister.

Ross (Teen Beach Movie) Lynch plays Harvey Kinkle. Sabrina’s human boyfriend, who is unaware of the dark forces that are set to keep him and Sabrina apart.

Richard (Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time) Coyle plays Father Blackwood.  The High Priest of the Church of Night and Dean of the Academy of the Unseen Arts, who gets into conflict with Sabrina.

Bronson (Perfect Strangers) Pinchot plays George Hawthorne, Baxter High’s villainous, puritanical principal, who does not get along with Sabrina

Michelle (Doctor Who) Gomez plays Mary Wardell, Sabrina’s favorite teacher and mentor, who becomes possessed by the devil’s handmaiden and becomes the cunning manipulator, Madam Satan.

Also appearing in the series is Salem Saberhagen, a former witch who was turned into a cat by the Witch’s Council and lives with the Spellman, as of this writing it is not known if Salem does talk, and if he does, who will be providing the voice. 

Originally, the series was set to be a spin-off of Riverdale, as Sabrina’s hometown of Greendale was mentioned in a few episodes. In fact, original plans called for Sabrina to make an appearance in the final episode of season one, but those plans were scrapped early on. The series was also originally planned to be on the CW, with connections to Riverdale, but Netflix’s willingness to offer a two season commitment influenced Warner Television’s decision to make the move to the streaming service. Due to that move, this series and Riverdale are two separate entities, for the time being. There is hope that a possible crossover could one day happen. 

The series is produced by Warner Brothers Television and Berlanti Productions, with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater serving as executive producers. All ten episodes of the first season will debut on Netflix on October 26, 2018. On the same day, the first two episodes will have a special screening at the 2018 Paris Comic-Con.

We doubt that the Groovie Ghoulies will be featured in this new series. 

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Gary DaBaum
Gary DaBaum

Gary DaBaum, SCIFI.radio DJ, writer, and all around nice guy, can be heard on SCIFI.radio. When not on the air, he can be found in the virtual world of Second Life, or spoiling his grand nephew.