With the surprising success of Riverdale – a Netflix Original everywhere but the US – as a reimagined teen drama, the streaming giant is looking to reimagine another classic teen idol into a dark mystery drama. Being dubbed as a spinoff to Riverdale, Netflix has already ordered a two-season, straight-to-series reimagining of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and they’ve also found their lead witch.
Kiernan Shipka (best known for playing Sally Draper on Mad Men) has been cast in the titular role in the series which is being described as being in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, so if you’re expecting something akin to the Melissa Joan Hart series, you’ll be quite surprised.
This series will find Sabrina “wrestling to reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while fighting the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit”, while the character 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”.
Riverdale executive producer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, said: “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. 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”.
It’s yet more proof that a reimagining/remake/reboot of a previously popular TV show/film has a lot more chance of getting the greenlight since producers and studios have realised nostalgia runs deep in contemporary culture. Riverdale has been far better than anyone expected, can this new version of Sabrina The Teenage Witch do the same?
#Peace.Love.SabrinaTheTeenageWitch
