Riverdale, the darker, soapy adaptation of Archie Comics, is the surprise hit of last year, and is continuing to chug along over on The CW for Season 2. The success of the show sparked interest in a new series based on Sabrina the Teenage Witch -- a fellow Archie Comic -- which has already gotten a two-season order from Netflix. Now, Sabrina Spellman herself has finally been found, and she'll be pretty familiar to fans of Mad Men. It's Kiernan Shipka, who played Sally Draper on the hit series.
Kiernan Shipka has been cast as the witch Sabrina in the currently untitled Sabrina project from Netflix. Shipka stars as the title heroine, who is described as being intelligent*, *compassionate, and brave to the point of recklessness. Sabrina is a half-human, half-witch who is just beginning her dark education in the ways of witchcraft, even as she tries to balance a normal life as a high school student at Baxter High. Sabrina is all that stands between humanity and the dark forces threatening our world.
Young actress Kiernan Shipka is perhaps best known for her role on Mad Men, in which she played Don Draper's daughter Sally for seven seasons. She was most recently seen acting opposite Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange on Feud: Bette and Joan as B.D. Hyman, the teenage daughter of Bette Davis. She's already got some real clout behind her name, so this is a good get for the new Sabrina series.
The untitled Sabrina project is a darker reimagining than fans of Sabrina the Teenage Witch may be used to. Netflix's project is based on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina graphic novel from Archie Comics, which had more of a horror focus. As such, the Netflix show will focus on horror and the occult, and is more tonally in the vein of The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the showrunner of Riverdale and chief creative officer of Archie Comics, will direct and executive produce the Sabrina project.
Originally viewed as a companion series to Riverdale, the project was thought to be airing on The CW, but will instead debut on Netflix. This makes it something of a question if Sabrina will crossover with Riverdale at any point. Riverdale has not been without its Sabrina the Teenage Witch easter eggs, but we'll have to wait and see what the future holds for both shows.
This is no doubt exciting news for fans of Riverdale and there will absolutely be more updates on this project over the next few months. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for all your TV news, like, what shows to look out for in the midseason, and what's been cancelled so far.
