The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

The Mad Men alumna has landed the leading role in the streaming giant’s untitled Sabrina the Teenage Witch reimagining, TVLine has learned. Netflix’s Sabrina is described as “an empowered young woman, half-human, half-witch, [who] is just beginning her dark education as a sorceress, even as she tries to maintain a normal life as a sophomore at Baxter High. Intelligent, compassionate and brave to the point of recklessness, Sabrina is all that stands between us and the forces of darkness that threaten our world.”

Likened to The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby in its tonality, this new series “reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. … This adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.”

Originally intended for The CW, this new series — based on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic books, written and created by Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa — was ultimately given a two-season order (each with 10 hour-long episodes) by Netflix, which isn’t all that surprising when you consider how popular Riverdale became after the first season was made available to stream; it returned this fall to double its Season 1 numbers.

“We’re all such huge fans of Kiernan’s work that when we started talking about who this new incarnation of Sabrina could be, her name was on everyone’s wish list,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “This is a darker, more macabre version of Sabrina, and we’re incredibly excited for people to see Kiernan make this iconic character her own.”

Aguirre-Sacasa will executive-produce the series, along with Lee Toland Krieger, Berlanti Prods.’ Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, and Archie Comics’ Jon Goldwater.

Here's how Netflix describes the series:


The cast includes Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Jaz Sinclair, Richard Coyle, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, Lachlan Watson, Bronson Pinchot and Gavin Leatherwood.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who also serves as chief creative officer of Archie Comics, is an executive producer alongside Riverdale collaborators Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater and Lee Toland Krieger. The drama hails from Warner Bros. Television-based Berlanti Productions.