Netflix and Chilling Adventures
Spooky season continues with this Friday’s anticipated release of the “Archie” comic spin-off “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. Sabrina is a character most of us are familiar with, having been featured across different platforms from comics, to animated TV, to live-action TV, with her most iconic depiction being in the popular 1996 TV rendition “Sabrina the Teenage Witch“. As can typically be expected from a new Netflix original, the story has been entirely re-vamped and the show definitely plans to stray far away from the family-friendly, day-time sitcom we’ve grown to know. Netflix even released a sneak-peak of the new show’s title sequence today, which pays tribute to the character’s comic book origins and sets us up for something excitingly different.
To get prepared for Friday’s premiere, here are 3 things you should know about the show:
#3: It’s Based on A Sabrina Comics Series
Sabrina Spellman, the teenage half-witch, half-mortal, has been a staple in Archie comics for decades, but it is a more recent incarnation of the character that will act as the launching point for the TV series. “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina†debuted in 2014, spinning off from the publication of the series “Afterlife with Archie.†In the comic, we see the origins and early life of Sabrina, but the dark and magical, “Chilling Adventures†has little to none of the campy or cartoonish antics of the original incarnation. The witches involved are the stuff of nightmares, with Sabrina (a morally ambivalent character at best) battling the forces of evil and trying to protect the mortals she loves.
#2:Â Netflix Has Already Greenlit Two Seasons
For any new show (even one with established characters and a fan base) this is a big deal. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Netflix has commissioned two ten-episode seasons. Filming for the first season began in March of 2018 and concluded this past June, and season two began filming immediately afterwards, keeping with the established rhythm of season 1 and wrapping up in December. Clearly, they are banking on the success of “Riverdale†which flourished mightily on Netflix, but can ratings lightning strike twice? This series will have a good, long opportunity to find out.
#1: It’s A Horror Story
Remember when we said this series would not be based on the light-hearted funny pages? Yeah, it gets dark. Real dark. Where “Riverdale†has brought the teens of Riverdale High into the midst of a murder mystery, Sabrina will be venturing into the horror genre, with The Hollywood Reporter comparing it to “The Exorcist†and “Rosemary’s Babyâ€. There will be blood and this will be the Teenage Witch like many have never seen her, a far-cry from Melissa Joan Hart’s light-hearted family sitcom. With characters like Madam Satan lurking about, not to mention the messed-up story of Sabrina’s parents and literal pacts with the devil, there is a reason “Chilling†is in the title.
If you’re looking forward to seeing Sabrina in action, check out the video below to find out what else you need to know about the show! And if horror is your jam you’re in luck because Horror Week at WatchMojo started TODAY! Don’t forget to vote HERE on your pick of the Top 50 Scariest Scenes in Horror Movies.