The supernatural exists just a dimension away from reality. This is true for fictional realities as well, even the most unexpected of realities. Thus the Archie comic continuity has its own iconic supernatural character, Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Created by George Gladir and Dan DeCarlo, Sabrina Spellman first appeared in “Archie’s Madhouse” # 22 in 1962 and added a decidedly goofy kind of supernatural adventure. Sabrina lived with her two aunts Hilda and Zelda in the town of Greendale, just a magical stone’s throw away from Riverdale. Sabrina would occasionally interact with Archie and company, but only used her powers for good and in secret.
It was the 1996 live-action sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart that most people know the character from. This series took the “Sabrina” comic story and added the equally iconic talking cat Salem. The Archie Horror line of comics, championed by writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, took full advantage of this with “Afterlife with Archie” in 2013, and he trumped it “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” which used the premise of Sabrina turning 16 and gaining powers into a much darker, more modern happening. Here, Sabrina is the child born of a human and a witch and when she turns 16, she is expected to commit as a servant the Dark Lord—but Sabrina seeks to live the life of a normal human. Yes, this is clearly not the Sabrina you’ve seen before on TV. It is most decidedly not for kids—and it knows it.
This is the spellbound heart of the new Netflix show, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” with Aguirre-Sacasa as showrunner (he’s now Archie Comics chief creative officer), and the show is faithful to its comic book predecessor in many ways, but turns down the violence.
What it doesn’t turn down are the occult references. There is devil worship, human sacrifice and possession by demons. As a result, it’s a very sophisticated bit of TV, enabled by the fact it’s on Netflix instead of a usual TV network. It is much more like an ongoing horror movie than a teen drama.
This sophistication is reflected in its choice of lead actress. Instead of casting some bubblegum social media celeb as Sabrina, the producers chose Kiernan Shipka. The actress, 18, does not have a filmography packed with rom-coms and sitcoms. Instead, she has a ton of short films and the lauded role of Sally Draper on the AMC TV show “Mad Men.” She’s an inspired choice for Sabrina, because Shipka carries with her a kind of playful secrecy to her, like she’s knowingly keeping something from viewers. Sabrina takes a stand to protect Greendale, but must deal with the consequences of her choice. This star-making turn by Shipka is spellbinding.
The other elements of “Sabrina” are in place, including, of course, Salem, who does not talk in this version. It’s not set in the 1960s, despite the retro design touches and there is a coven of new characters just for the show. The biggest transformation is that of Sabrina’s aunts, Hilda (Lucy Davis from “Wonder Woman”) and Zelda (Miranda Otto from “The Lord of the Rings”). Instead of the past versions that portray the two as well-meaning but somewhat bumbling witches, the two are full-fledged witches with their own agenda. Not goofy at all. The casting of the aunts, along with the devil worship elements, are the most bracing surprises on the show. As to that other Archie TV show, “Sabrina” seems to hint that it may exist in the same continuity as “Riverdale,” but does not explicitly say so—or does it?
Sabrina still has her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch) but, oops, he belongs to a family who hunts witches, and will have to deal with the high school’s resident mean girls, the Weird Sisters. So, yes, it is a coming-of-age, high-school-is-hell kind of thing, but almost literally so.
“Sabrina” makes for a decidedly spooky viewing experience, perfect for those seeking something along the lines of the original “Charmed” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Aside from the great work of Shipka, “Sabrina” works because the show plays the magic card straight, daring to imagine what it would really be like for a teenager to have magical powers. It straddles the line between adaptation and original just right, and may be the most sophisticated supernatural viewing experience this side of Halloween, putting the “boo” in the boobtube.
“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is now streaming on Netflix.
