‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ adaptation has found a lead actress in ‘Mad Men’ star Kiernan Shipka…
There’s a new Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Kiernan Shipka — best known for her role on ‘Mad Men’ as well as a recent turn in the horror film ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ — has been cast in the lead role to play Sabrina in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the comic series ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’.
The show comes courtesy of ‘Riverdale’ creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who also write the original ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ comic book, which takes a much darker twist on the classic Archie character previously portrayed by Melissa Joan Hart in the series ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’.
This version of Sabrina is described as ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ meets ‘The Exorcist’ as Sabrina wrestles with her humanity while also embracing her roots as a witch.
The new series, which is still without an official name, describes the show as “an empowered young woman, 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.”
The Sabrina spinoff was originally imagined as a sister series for ‘Riverdale’ on the CW but Netflix ended up picking up the show and giving a two season order with 10 episodes for each. The two series will share some similarities including Sabrina living in Greendale, which is the town next door to Riverdale and characters from that show have popped up in town there previously.
Now the Sabrina series will stand all on its own with the show on Netflix. With Shipka’s casting, the rest of the characters will begin coming together with production on the series likely to pick up later this year.
