She introduced us to a famous, beloved apprentice witch from a darker angle than ever: we called “The New Adventures of Sabrina”, the adolescent, the bewitching, the satanic…
On the program, the rediscovery of a cult heroine through a dark coming-of-age story peppered with occult sciences: welcome to The New Adventures of Sabrina!
In the fictional town of Greendale, young Sabrina Spellman lives with her two aunts, Hilda and Zelda, and attends the local high school. If to the outside world, her life seems very banal, it is far from being: half-witch, half-mortal, the young girl tries to reconcile her dual nature on a daily basis.
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However, as she approaches her 16th birthday, she must make a choice: sign the Book of the Beast of Satan and become a member of his Church of Night, just like all her family before her, or continue her life among mortals. – and Harvey, her boyfriend – with limited powers. As she tries to make up her mind, she must also face the forces of evil that threaten her and everyone around her.
Sabrina Spellman is therefore back… but be careful, we are far from the apprentice witch of the 90s sitcom – even if she will give her a little wink during season 2!
However, some elements are familiar: names we know, two eccentric aunts, a black cat named Salem and magic… the foundations are laid. The rest, however, is reinvented and faithful to the work on which the Netflix series is inspired. Indeed, created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale) in 2018, The New Adventures of Sabrina is an adaptation of the comics Sabrina, the apprentice witch from Archie Comics editions, and more precisely from its horrific spin-off, Chilling Adventures of Sabrinawhich has existed since 2014. And who says “chilling”, says sinister, worrying, glacial…
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Thus, in the show – which does not hesitate to make numerous references to horror cinema that moviegoers will love – everything is more obscure and mysterious, more infernal and dangerous (even deadly), we talk about black magic and evil forces, satanic church, hell and the devil. And the careful aesthetic of the program contributes to its originality: it gives off a gothic (and sometimes even gory and erotic) atmosphere that is retro and delicious as can be. And it all starts with a credits mix of horror and glossy paper…
Halfway between horror and fantasy, The New Adventures of Sabrina dusts off the myth of the witch with modern issues and thus recalls Charmed or even Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its feminist (blonde) heroine. Here, it’s the talented Kiernan Shipka, who we discovered as a child in Mad Men, who carries the series with charm and freshness.
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More adult and more complex, the show – which was entitled to its crossovers with Riverdale and which continued in comics under the title The Occult World of Sabrina After His Arrest – is a terribly dark, damn bewitching and downright entertaining teenage tale that mixes girl power and empowerment with the supernatural, powers and demons. And it’s devilishly addictive.
The New Adventures of Sabrinacreated by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Miranda Otto…
4 seasons to watch on Netflix.