Netflix has found their Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Kiernan Shipka has been cast as Sabrina Spellman in Netflix’s Untitled Sabrina Project. The upcoming series will be based on the Archie Comics graphic novel The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, with season one set to consist of 20 one-hour episodes.
Per Netflix, Sabrina Spellman is described as an empowered young woman, half-human, half-witch. “Sabrina 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.”
Commenting on Kiernan Shipka’s casting, writer/executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale) said, “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. 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.”
Executive producer and Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater added, “I am thrilled that Kiernan is playing Sabrina and have no doubt that she will embody the strength, courage and boldness that has made the character a fan favorite.”
The Untitled Sabrina Project will also be executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Lee Toland Krieger. Krieger is also confirmed to direct.
Kiernan Shipka’s credits include Mad Men, Feud: Bette and Joan, The Legend of Korra, and Very Good Girls.
The Plot: The Untitled Sabrina Project 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.
