Everything old is new again, if the latest TV reboot craze is to be believed. We have Netflix to thank for a lot of them: from ’80s family classic Full House’s return with Fuller House to early-aughts pop culture staple Gilmore Girls, revisited for the four-part Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life, and now, everyone’s favorite teenage witch is returning to screens.
Netflix has now greenlit two seasons of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, based largely on Archie Comics’ The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the Melissa Joan Hart–starring ’90s show. We did some digging to find out all there is to know about the reboot ahead of its release.
The show will stream on Netflix.
The as of yet titled Sabrina series was initially developed as a series for the CW, but last December, Netflix confirmed that the reboot is heading to the streaming service instead. “Sabrina is coming to Netflix and she might just out-brood Jughead. Don’t @ me about talking cats (yet),” the streaming service announced on Twitter.
Sabrina is coming to Netflix and she might just out-brood Jughead. Don’t @ me about talking cats (yet)
— Netflix US (@netflix) December 1, 2017
Netflix greenlit two straight-to-series seasons of the Sabrina project, which means fans won’t have to wait long between seasons.
There’s no premiere date yet.
Because production hasn’t started on the show, there’s no premiere date to mark in your calendars just yet, unfortunately.
The Riverdale showrunner is penning the new series.
Let’s hope for a Sabrina/Riverdale crossover episode—Riverdale showrunner and chief executive officer of Archie Comics Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has signed on to pen the upcoming Sabrina series. In addition to writing it, Aguirre-Sacasa will direct and produce the series, and he will be joined by fellow Riverdale collaborators Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Jon Goldwater, and Lee Toland Krieger.
Sabrina will feature new faces.
Melissa Joan Hart, who played the titular heroine in the original says she feels “indifferent” about the new direction of the show but may still be interested in finding her “fit” in the new series in the future. But the show has nabbed a new actress to carry on the title character’s legacy. Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka will play Sabrina while Australian actress Miranda Otto (Homeland) will take on the role of Aunt Zelda Spellman and English actress Lucy Davis (Wonder Woman) will play Aunt Hilda Spellman.
Aguirre-Sacas tweeted a page of the Sabrina script last October, which revealed that Harvey would definitely be a part of the series, although we don’t know who will play him yet.
Other cast members include Chance Perdomo, who will introduce the new character of Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose to the world, and Michelle Gomez as Sabrina’s teacher Mary Wardell. One more clue about the show’s dark side comes with the casting of Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood. According to Deadline, Blackwood is a high priest in the Church of Night, and has dark secrets that may set him up as a villain.
Salem, the family’s wise-talking cat, was played by a puppet in the original series. It looks like he’s going to be a real kitty this time, though:
Ladies and gentlemen, meet #Greendale’s latest resident. All hail, Salem! #sabrina, #netflix pic.twitter.com/XZ1dNPgvja
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) February 9, 2018
The reboot will be nothing like the original family comedy.
The beloved ’90s sitcom was a light-hearted family comedy but the new reboot departs from its comedy roots and veers towards dark thriller territory, much like its companion series Riverdale. Aguirre-Sacasa said the new version “is a darker, more macabre version of Sabrina.”
Melissa Joan Hart gave the new series her stamp of approval.
Sequels and reboots are often frowned upon but Melissa Joan Hart supports Netflix’s Sabrina reboot and gave it her stamp of approval while speaking to Entertainment Weekly earlier in February. “I think they’re doing it in a smart way—change it up, don’t make it the same,” she offered. “If you’re going to do the same show, it probably would fall on its face, but I think what they’re doing is probably the smartest way to reboot something.”
And Twitter approves as well:
I already stan for this Sabrina reboot https://t.co/PFDB0vD7q3
— Chelsea Palmateer (@manchelster) February 21, 2018
god i can’t wait for the sabrina reboot!!!!!
— leïla (@willgraym) February 21, 2018
From: ELLE UK
