After rumor upon rumor that Sabrina The Teenage Witch would be making her way into the world of Riverdale for a spin-off series, it has been confirmed the character is officially coming back to television! That said, it appears the game has changed slightly, as Netflix managed to snag a two-season commitment for the series over The CW, who many had assumed would be airing the series. Based on the graphic novel The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the series reportedly has an order for 20 episodes, and a lot of questions to answer as development moves forward.
For those unaware, this untitled Sabrina The Teenage Witch series was originally in development at The CW with Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer and Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa writing the script. It's being reported that The CW had a list of actresses ready to cast for the role of Sabrina Spellman, but with Netflix now in control of the series, that list is being revisited. What that means exactly isn't explicitly stated by THR, but it feels safe to speculate that Netflix has their own vision for what it wishes to do with this series, and that might include a different list of Sabrinas from the one The CW was originally looking at for the role.
Things seem to be moving rather quickly with the Sabrina The Teenage Witch project, as a writers room for the series is reportedly set to open up on Monday. From there, filming is scheduled to start in February and then continue all the way into October. That sounds like a long time to film, and it would be if both Season 1 and Season 2 weren't filming back to back. Season 1 is set to wrap filming in June, so it's possible it could be released before the end of 2018.
With Netflix now in control of the Sabrina spin-off series, it's presently unknown whether or not Riverdale will still be a "companion" of the untitled Sabrina The Teenage Witch series. It seems likely that won't be the case, but nothing has been ruled out at this time. Sabrina Spellman did make a cameo in Riverdale in the form of a comic book cover, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa had teased in the past he was open to her appearing in the show. A recent episode with a creepier tone than usual might've indicated an upcoming supernatural Sabrina connection when Archie saw a bloody deer, although that was likely tied to the mysterious guy who gave them a ride and had deer carcasses in his truck bed.
The untitled Sabrina The Teenage Witch project will be getting two seasons on Netflix, although no premiere date has been revealed at this time. For more on other upcoming shows, be sure to visit both our fall premiere guide and midseason premiere guide for the full monty of all television has to offer. For a look at some shows that didn't make it out of 2017 with a new season, visit our cancellation guide.
