casting a spellman
THE NEW SABRINA, SET FOR NETFLIX AND CHILLING… ADVENTURES.
Comic books, animation, TV… and now the teenage witch enters the world of streaming with Netflix’s Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. A dark reimagining that mixes horror with (wicked) humour, it stars Kiernan Shipka (previously best known as Don Draper’s daughter on Mad Men), who introduces TF to this fresh spin…
How would you pitch this new take on Sabrina?
In many ways it’s about a girl growing up, so it’s analogous to a teenage experience. But it also has elements of fantasy, of dealing with the two separate sides of Sabrina Spellman. It really turns into this beautiful journey back and forth between the mortal world and the witch world; [Sabrina] goes to great lengths to save a lot of people, which gets her into some crazy situations you’ve never seen before.
Sabrina shares a comic-book universe with Archie… will we see a Riverdale crossover? Riverdale is technically the next town over. It’s not something that’s touched on a lot in the show, but it is referenced, so anything is possible in the future. Both shows are not set
in any period but are timeless. I’m a big Riverdale fan so I’m excited about that possibility, too.
What’s your history with Sabrina?
I didn’t really watch the [1990s] show growing up. But when we were shooting in Vancouver, I got chatting to some girls from Ireland in an elevator and they went crazy over the old show, like, “Oh my God! Harvey! Salem the cat!” It was eye-opening what a cult following the show still has.
Did you have any second thoughts about doing another TV show post-Mad Men?
I wrapped Mad Men when I was 15 and started filming this when I was 18, so I definitely had time there to figure myself out, figure out what I wanted to do and work on other things. I got to try different experiences, which is super important. I truly feel like it’s the right time for me to do something like this. I was totally itching to get back to TV because it’s fun to keep growing over time as a character.
Does this show pay homage to previous versions?
One of the main charms – no pun intended; I can’t believe I just said that! – of the original Sabrina, The Teenage Witch was that it was funny, and I think Chilling Adventures honours that. But at the same time, it’s super dark and scary, taking inspiration from Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist.
What would you use witchcraft for yourself?
I would love to be able to heal people. I’d also love to fly. Any time I’m in traffic in Los Angeles I think it would just be so convenient to fly over it! Jenny Cooney Carillo
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA STARTS ON NETFLIX ON 26 OCTOBER.