Netflix Dark Fantasy Series Twists Classic Sitcom Into Fan Favorite

The 90s sitcom focused more on the comedic encounters Sabrina faced as she navigated her teenage years. Salem was her silly, talkative black cat who reminisced on the days when he was human and had a goofy laugh. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina presents a starkly different approach to the character.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was first released on Netflix in 2018. Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the series was produced by Warner Bros. Television. The first part of season one was released in October 2018, followed by the second half of the first season in April 2019, with a Christmas special in between releases. 

The second season was released in two equal parts, first dropping in January 2020 and finishing up the 16-episode season in December of the same year. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly led to the cancellation of the series, but a new continuation of the story, Occult World of Sabrina was promptly announced (but has yet to be seen). 

A backdoor series finale for CAOS was aired to wrap up the series via the sixth season of Riverdale. Riverdale, after all, was the series that spawned the creation of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. CAOS was said to be a spin-off or companion series to Riverdale, and the two did crossover on more than one occasion. 

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina stars Kiernan Shipka (as Sabrina), Ross Lynch (as Harvey), Chance Perdomo (Ambrose), Lucy David (Hilda), and Miranda Otto (Zelda), and a long list of other talents. All of the most well-known characters from the world of Sabrina are accounted for in the new series with a darker, more horror-driven twist on the whole thing. 

The series is thick with occult practices, big coming-of-age decisions, some questionable realities, powerful feminine figures, and even a little romance. The magic and witchcraft representations in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina were so on par with reality, in fact, that the series was the subject of a lawsuit initiated by none other than the Satanic Temple. 

The statue of Baphomet that sits at the entrance of The Academy of Unseen Arts in the series was far too similar to the symbolic image owned and trademarked by the Satanic Temple. It may have been alright to be used in the series if its representation of Satan was anything like that of the Satanic Temple, but the Temple has a much different outlook on the Dark Lord than most people understand, and they were offended. 

Other critics, however, had a much more favorable outlook on the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave part one of the series a 91 percent approval rating, and the series as a whole sits with an 82 percent approval rating. 

If you want to check out the series and see what all the hype is about, you can find every episode of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina now streaming on Netflix with a subscription to the channel.