Draven Jackson
Arts and Entertainment Editor
The modern adaptation of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” sees the iconic comic witch in a much darker and much more twisted light.
The Netflix adaptation of the famous comic book series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” interprets the Archie comic as more hellish Greendale in “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
While the comics have had many different formats and adaptations — from “Sabrina: The Animated Series” to the ’90s sitcom “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” — it’s not a far stretch to say that Netflix’s version is different from any “Sabrina” we’ve ever seen before.
Now, I’ll be honest — I have been in love with Sabrina ever since I was 8 years old.
I used to wake up every Saturday and Sunday at 6 a.m. so I could watch the hour of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and the hour of “Full House” before my parents woke up.
So, when Netflix announced it would be adding a new adaptation of the show, the childhood nostalgia started before I even watched the first episode.
Obviously, the new show isn’t anything like the Sabrina I grew up with.
The genre is completely different because the sitcom, feel-good style of the ’90s version has been replaced with a supernatural horror series reminiscent of CW’s “Supernatural” (which can also be found on Netflix).
They also incorporated some new characters into the show.
While they kept family favorites like Harvey Kinkle and Sabrina’s aunts, Hilda and Zelda, they’ve also added in some new characters who have their own storylines in the show’s bigger plot, such as Sabrina’s friends Roz and Susie, and Sabrina’s witchy adversaries, the Weird Sisters.
I was really happy, though, that they kept Sabrina’s cat Salem in the story, as he was always my favorite character.
However, the show even changed him up a little: Salem himself is a demon Sabrina summons who becomes her familiar spirit.
We see him as a demon only briefly in the first episode; afterward, we see him only in his cat form, in which he doesn’t speak (though he still manages to be understood by some of the characters).
Salem’s personality and his imprisoned status, which were evident in the ’90s sitcom, seem to have been transferred in the new show to Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose, who carries the wit and humor from the older show into “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
While Ambrose appeared in the animated show as Sabrina’s cousin, his personality and background have merged with the Salem Saberhagen found in the sitcom.
The show, while dark, still kept me as interested and obsessed, as the one from when I was a kid did.
While I enjoyed the show, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” has gotten some backlash from other viewers — namely, the Satanic Temple, who, according to screenrant.com, “levied a $50 million copyright infringement lawsuit” against Netflix and Warner Bros.
The Satanic Temple announced its complaints and intent to pursue legal action soon after the show was released on Netflix, with Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of the Satanic Temple, claiming the show appropriated one of the church’s monuments, Baphomet, via the statue found in the center of the show’s school, The Academy of the Unseen Arts.
The lawsuit was settled on Nov. 21, apparently amicably, according to Warner Bros. studios. It is unknown as of now how much the statue will be utilized in the next season.
While the lawsuit had fans fearing the show would be taken off Netflix, Netflix said the show will have a second season, which the cast has already begun filming.
If you are looking for a show to binge over winter break or you just need a distraction from the pain and toil of finals week, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is what you need in your life. The show will bewitch you, and you won’t be able to stop watching.
