Not since American Horror Story: Coven have I been this excited for witchy mayhem. Netflix has just unleashed its trailer for the upcoming season of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, based on the revamped, dark comic book series from Archie Comics that came out in 2014.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina imagines 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. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, 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 (via Youtube).
One of my biggest anxieties with the show was seeing if it would keep up the very occult, dark levels of Satan-worshipping witches, and this trailer soothes all of my fears. We see Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman doing a very good job of capturing the slight eerieness of the lead character, just by sitting in front of the Devil as they all wish her happy birthday.
(Squad?)
This trailer is all about flashes of the occult and tone, with plenty of shots towards the end of good ol’ Satan to let you know that these are hardcore witches. We get to see that Sabrina’s high school is split into regular biology and then demonology classes in the secret magic school. I love a secret magic school.
(Satan … Lord Lucifer … Daddy?)
There isn’t a lot of our supporting cast: Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardell/Madam Satan, Lucy Davis as Hilda Spellman, or Miranda Otto as Zelda Spellman, not to mention a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots of Ross Lynch as Harvey Kinkle. Still, I’m ready for this show and I am hoping that if people are interested in this, they will seek out the comics and give them a read. They’ve got great storytelling, some truly great horror moments, and they’re filled to the brim with witchy mythology.
One aspect I’m really interested in seeing what they do with is Sabrina’s half-human, half-witch identity, as to now spoil it for future television shows, the story is really good about using the time period (1960s) to address certain inequalities women could face—human women, anyway.
Plus, most importantly, we know Salem will be here, and I know how nostalgia has everyone longing for him. This certainly won’t be Melissa Joan Hart’s Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, but it sure looks like a lot of fun.
What do you think of the trailer? For fans of the comics, what storylines are you look forward to seeing? Will there be any crossover with The CW’s Riverdale? Man, I hope so. Cheryl would kill black lipstick and a Wednesday Addams dress.
(image: screengrab)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
