'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' vs 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'
A comparison between two television series focused on the life of Sabrina Spellman
Both Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) will cast an intoxicating spell on you, despite the shows contrasting from each other. In this edition of my newsletter I will be exploring them both, and how they have tackled this teenage witch.
If you’re completely out the loop with either or both of these shows, I’ll give a brief introduction to them.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch started airing in 1996, with an existing fanbase of fans of the Archie comic, with a pilot that earned 17 million viewers. The show follows the adventures of Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) which discovers she is a witch, on the day of her 16th birthday. The show is presented as a sitcom, with a witchy twist, as Sabrina starts as a novice witch drawn to making mistakes. Her aunts Hilda and Zelda Spellman (Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick) coach Sabrina on the proper use of magic while also taking care of Salem (Nick Bakay) who is a witch that was turned into a cat for trying to take over the world. The series ran until 2003, as we follow her character development along side her magical skills which improve with every season. Despite all associated characters and plot being dropped half way through the final season, the show came to a satisfying end (at least for myself)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
A return of this character had been in the works for a while, which came to life when Netflix released Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. As the series begins, Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) already exists as a half-witch half-mortal is this more dark coming-of-age story as she is fighting the evil forces the threaten her, her family and the daylight world her family inhabit. She shows shines with a darker plotline while remaining thrilling. Sabrina is starting her dark education while still attempting to balance this normal life. The show is still running but has recently been announced to finish once the fourth season commences.
Even though these shows as based on similar source material, they go down very separate paths. Chilling Adventure of Sabrina is the darker, grittier show which heavily evolves around the involvement of both worlds while having this overriding feeling of higher stakes. The series continues to build this world which feels very new to viewers and introducers new players to the game. This also presents more mystery and complex storylines, in comparison to the more sitcom model.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch shines with one of their main characters, Salam, being the star of the show through all seasons, which Netflix’s tale misses out. They also represent Sabrina’s high school life in the spotlight, as she deals with bullies and her general relationship with school, and balancing her life. There is also this stronger sense of family and compassion, as she learns from her mistakes and it creates a good role model in Sabrina.
I don’t believe one show is better than the other, but of course there are preferences. Despite the more supernatural and horror orientated vision of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I find myself in love with Sabrina the Teenage Witch purely based on the nostalgia and connection to these characters. The show flourishes in its more comedic approach with its bright colours and upbeat music to match with the morals of each episode.
My personal favourite aspect of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is the world building and the exploration of this witch world. This is something that wasn’t really touched upon with ABC’s sitcom as that had a shift on teenage drama and high school life.
It is not fair to really choose which is better as it is all down to the individual. If you’re a fan of shows like American Horror Story or perhaps Riverdale, you may be more drawn to the 2018 series, but those wanting some teenage drama with a sprinkle of witchy goodness will shift towards the 1996 classic.