Netflix Picks Up Riverdale Spin-off The ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’
Well, this is going to make things interesting… Netflix has apparently picked up ‘Riverdale’s’ ‘Sabrina The Teenage Witch’ spin-off series, rather than The CW, who were originally developing the show. The initial order is for 20 x 1-hour episodes, believed to be split over 2 seasons.
As we mentioned when we announced the Riverdale team were working on the project, this isn’t like the cutesy, 90’s Melissa Joan Hart version, but something much darker. It’s based on the ‘Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina’ comic book, it’s a dark coming-of-age tale traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft, more in the vein of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ or ‘The Exorcist.’ Sabrina must wrestle to reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while fighting the evil forces that threaten her and her family.
The show was originally being viewed as a companion series to ‘Riverdale’, but it seems the success of Archie and his pals internationally on Netflix (who broadcast the show outside of the US), coupled with the temptation of 2 season order, was too much of a deal to pass up. It also means Warner Bros. TV, who are producing the show, will retain total ownership of the Sabrina series, unlike ‘Riverdale’ which is a co-production with CBS TV Studios (that means they also have to share the profits…)
The downside of this move is that it’s less likely we will now get any Riverdale/Sabrina crossovers. Berlanti Productions, who also make ‘Riverdale’, are still behind the series too though, and given WBTV is also co-producing, it doesn’t rule it out entirely. We’ll just have to wait and see.
‘Riverdale’ is currently streaming its 2nd Season, Thursdays on Netflix UK. The Sabrina show is currently being referred to by Netflix as the ‘Untitled Sabrina Series’, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
