The show was originally developed at The CW as a 'Riverdale' spinoff.
Meet Sabrina!
Kiernan Shipka has been cast as the titular character on Netflix's untitled Sabrina series, the streaming service announced on Friday. The one-hour drama, based on the Archie Comics graphic novel, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, has been picked up for 20 episodes.
A press release describes the character Sabrina Spellman 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."
According to executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, fans can expect a much darker Sabrina than was portrayed by Melissa Joan Hart on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Jon Goldwater and Lee Toland Krieger will executive produce the series, which is compared tonally to Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist.
“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," he said in a statement of 18-year-old Shipka, whose credits include Mad Men and Feud: Bette and Joan. "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.”
The show was originally developed as a spinoff of Riverdale, a fellow Archie Comics series. ET confirmed that the series had moved from The CW to Netflix in December.
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