One year to the month since it was first announced, we’ve been given our first look at the Sabrina reboot. Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina teaser trailer features around 40 seconds of macabre spookiness that offers little in terms of direct context. Though plenty of ’90s kids will be familiar with Sabrina the Teenage Witch from the ABC/Nickelodeon sitcom of the same name, those unfamiliar with the original Archie source material may find this particular rendition a far cry from the more kid-friendly show that ran for 7 seasons 20 years ago.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina teaser trailer shows locations like the Spellman Mortuary and Cerberus Books before expanding into a montage of shots related to Sabrina’s birthday – a “very special” event used in past iterations as the time when she gains control of her supernatural powers. The season synopses states that Sabrina “must choose between the witch world of her family and the human world of her friends.”
Set to arrive in time for Halloween, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will begin its 10 episode run on October 26. A second season is being shot back-to-back, but no release date has been confirmed just yet. Kiernan Shipka will play the main role of Sabrina. Unlike the late ’90s sitcom version, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina exchanges the more comedic nature of the character and the wider franchise cast for the darker elements seen in the more recent comic series of the same name.
Following the success of Riverdale on The CW and Netflix, it was eventually confirmed that other Archie character Sabrina would be coming to our screens. Originally conceived to run alongside Riverdale as a companion series, the move to Netflix cast doubt on any potential crossover event. Back in March 2018, Jon Goldwater confirmed that the two shows were separate, but “would love” to “figure out a way to cross over”. Greendale, the fictional town in which Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes place, has been mentioned numerous times in episodes of Riverdale.
