The new series on Netflix,“The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” aired for the first time October 26, 2018. The same producers that brought “Riverdale,” Berlanti Productions, have introduced the new series. It is based on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” the 1996-2003 hit TV show.
The plot for season one is about Sabrina Spellman and the adventures she faces as she battles the decision to become a full fledged witch, changing her entire life and taking away the half mortal part of her life. She is challenged by many forms of Satan’s followers and is forced to choose a path based off of the adventures that she faces.
The main characters were Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), Hilda Spellman (Lucy Davis), Madam Satan (Michelle Gomez), Zelda Spellman (Miranda Otto), and Ambrose Spellman (Chance Perdomo), along with many other side characters.
The show comes with slight controversy because of the use of an androgynous goat headed statue. According to Michelle Kaminsky, entertainment writer for Forbes.com, the Satanic Temple has decided to sue Netflix and Warner Bros. due to copyright and trademark infringement. The Satanic Temple has settled the lawsuit as long as Netflix acknowledges the copied pieces in the credits.
The first season consists of 10 episodes and each episode is about an hour long. There will be a second season this upcoming year, although Netflix has not disclosed a date yet.
The series was titled “Chilling,” although it seemed to lack a level of nightmarish gore which would have made the story more “Chilling” and fit the terms of the plot more, along with the show’s title.
Some of the acting was poor including that of the main character, Sabrina Spellman, and did not do justice to the well written plot line. Although at points the show seemed to move away from important occurrences and veer more towards random details that did not relate directly to the story, the plot line was interesting to the point where one did want to watch more.
I would recommend this show because it does bring suspense, similar to “Riverdale;” a mysterious series where a group of high schoolers along with the entire small town of Riverdale look into the murder of a twin brother, and make you question the supernatural forces. It also is an interesting storyline because of its inclusion of history including discussion of the Salem witch trials.
The special effects were well done and the use of lighting helped tell the story. The scripts were well written too in terms of including phrases like “Praise Satan” as a form of saying “Oh God,” which was interesting because it was the witches who chose to praise Satan and that is their form of God.
Overall, I would give “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” three out of five stars. It’s lacking acting and inability to provoke fear, drove me to this decision. Although these factors slightly changed my judgement of the show, I do believe that the plot line was innovative and suspenseful along with it’s inclusion of a strong script.
I would recommend “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” if you are looking for a coming-of-age series similar to “Riverdale” through incredible plot line and suspense produced by the bewitching adventures that Sabrina faces as she decides which force of nature will take her, high school normality or evil reality.