Last week it was announced that the CW was developing a remake of the cult classic show Sabrina the Teenage Witch from the same team as Riverdale. The CW show being developed is based on the The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic which is a much darker iteration of the character. Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a comic book series created by George Gladir and Dan DeCarlo which was published by Archie comics. Sabrina debuted in the pages of Archie’s Madhouse #22 in October of 1962. The Original comic follows the adventures of Sabrina Spellman, a half witch half mortal, who lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as their cat Salem in the town of Greendale which is located somewhere near Riverdale. Since her debut Sabrina has a popular character which has resulted in an animated series as well as a live action series. When it comes to the upcoming series many fans are both skeptical and excited due to the popularity of the original live action series. As a fan of the original series I figured I’d give casting the new series a shot.

Alisha Boe as Sabrina Spellman

Sabrina is the series protagonist, a young half mortal half witch, teenager who is learning to come to terms with her powers as well as training to use them. Sabrina lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda and their magical cat Salem Saberhagen. Sabrina is a kinda well-intentioned young girl who struggles with living up to her expectations of herself as well as everyone elses expectations of her. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina when she was a year old she was taken by her aunts with no memory of her mother. Many of you might recognize Alisha Boe from the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why where she played Jessica Davis. Boe would make for the perfect updated version of Sabrina. Shes great at portraying emotionally complex characters.

Michelle Hurd as Zelda Spellman

In the comics Zelda Spellman is the more compassionate and kind of Sabrina’s aunts. In the original 90s live action series Zelda was characterized as the brilliant scholar between the two aunts. She is known for her intelligence and her reputation within not just the magical but the mortal community for her scientific contributions. Zelda is the more responsible sister oftentimes the disciplinarian in Sabrina’s life. She was big on following the rules and doing what is right. Michelle Hurd would make for the perfect Zelda Spellman as she is amazing at playing insanely intelligent and disciplined characters. Michelle is great at portraying stern characters.

Cree Summer as Hilda Spellman

In the comics Hilda Spellman was originally characterized as being the more cranky aunt who disliked mortals in the stereotypical witch attitude. In the original live action series Hilda is characterized as the more fun-loving carefree aunt. In the series she found herself in many situations that could have been avoided by simply paying attention or focusing a little. In the later seasons of the show Hilda bought the coffee shop that Sabrina worked in as a means to channel her feelings into something positive after Sabrina moved out for college. She is generally pretty funny and has proven herself to be an extremely powerful witch. She is the free-spirited aunt which is exactly why Cree Summer would make for the perfect Hilda.

Tom Ellis as Salem Saberhagen

Salem Saberhagen is the Spellman family cat and the familiar for the Spellman sisters and Sabrina. In the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic Salem is actually a human who is transformed into a cat due to his many attempts at world domination. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina however Salem is actually a human named Samuel who is turned into a cat by the witches of Salem after getting a young witch pregnant and refusing to marry her. Though his origin may slightly differ one thing is for certain Salem is extremely devious and is up to something at all times. While still a cat a some point he attempted to enact the biblical book of Revelations. In the live action series Salem was the resident troublemaker. Lucifer‘s Tom Ellis would make for an amazing Salem Saberhagen. Tom is fantastic at being witty, sarcastic, and extremely sassy which would be a great callback to the Salem of the original live action series.

Jessica Sula as Ambrose

In the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Abrose is Sabrina’s cousin who lives with her and her aunts. In the comics Ambrose is the “Old country”. Ambrose has two snakes that are his familiars who happen to be two witches that were turned into snakes as punishment for murdering their fathers fiance. Ambrose is characterized by his fashion sense and sense of eccentric “showmanship”. Ambrose would make for a great secondary character in the series as it would give Sabrina another witch to discuss her problems with. I chose to genderbend Ambrose because I like the idea of the Spellman household being nothing but women. Split’s Jessica Sula would make for a great cousin Ambrose because she is great at playing fashionable fabulous characters with a heart of gold.

Lana Condor as Harvey “Harley” Kinkle

In the comics Harvy Kinkle is Sabrina’s long-term mortal boyfriend who is consistently aloof about her being a witch. Harvey is one of the schools most popular football players and one of the most popular students of the student body. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series Harvey is killed by the witches council and later revived, however it is Sabrina’s father that returns in Harvey’s body rather than Harvey. Harvey has always been characterized as being kind and loyal and really accident prone. In the original live action Sabrina Harvey is characterized as being a little naive and not so smart. I chose to genderbend Harvey into a girl who is one of the schools most popular cheerleaders. X-Men Apocalypse Star Lana Condor would be perfect for Harvey/Harley.

Sophia Carson as Rosalind “Roz” 

In the original Sabrina comics Roz was essentially Sabrina’s archenemy. They fought over just about everything and had an intense rivalry. In the later comics though the rivalry aspect was dropped and the two girls would go on to become good friends. Rosalind being in the shows cast would make for interesting character development between her and Sabrina with them going from enemies to friends eventually. Roz doesn’t have a counterpart from the original live action series, but the closest comparison could probably be Sabrina’s rival Libby Chessler. The Descendants star Sophia Carson would absolutely slay the role of Roz due to her ability to perfectly portray fabulously confident characters.

Rachel True as Diane Sawyer

Diane is Sabrina’s mortal mother. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina when Sabrina is just a year old she is taken from her mother by her Aunts Hilda and Zelda as mortals aren’t allowed to know about magic. Sabrina’s mother would later go on to be sent to the Hearthstone Clinic for the Mentally Unwell after Sabrina’s father drove her insane because she refused to give over her child to his sisters. She later only regains her mind when Madam Satan restores her mental state, however Madam Satan out of jealousy made sure that Diane would never be able to convince the doctors to let her leave the clinic. In the original live action series Sabrina’s mother was an archaeologist. Rachel True being cast as Diane Sawyer would make for a great flip and homage to The Craft where she played a witch instead of a mortal.

Lenny Kravitz as Edward Theodore Spellman

Edward is Sabrina’s Witch father. When Edward married Diane Sawyer, Sabrina’s mortal mother, he broke one of the witches biggest rules. Witch law forbade Mortals and Witches from being together mainly because mortals weren’t allowed to know of a witches true identity. When Sabrina was born Edward used his magic to drive Diane insane because she refused to give up her daughter to his sisters Hilda and Zelda. When she was just a year old the sisters took her and began raising her. When Sabrina was six years old Edward was trapped in a tree and then burned alive by one of his ex lovers Madam Satan. Edward was later revived through the body of his daughter’s boyfriend Harvey Kinkle. I chose Lenny Kravitz because I imagine Lenny perfectly portraying a calm, cool, and smooth Edward Spellman.

Salli Richardson Whitfield as Evangeline “Madam Satan” Porter

Madam Satan is the ex girlfriend of Sabrina’s father Edward Spellman. When Edward left her for Sabrina’s mortal mother it drove her to suicide. She killed herself by throwing herself into a pit of lions which devoured her alive. In the afterlife she was sent to the ring of hell reserved for suicides. She remained in this place as a faceless woman until two witches from Riverdale freed her. She would later make her way to Greendale where she would restore Sabrina’s mothers mind as well as take up the identity of “Ms. Evangeline Porter” a teacher at Sabrina’s school. Madam Satan has appeared consistently as an antagonist to Sabrina and her aunts. Salli Richardson Porter would make a great Madam Satan because she is fantastic at portraying deliciously fabulous characters with a mean streak.

The original Sabrina the Teenage Witch television show was a 90s and early 2000’s pop culture staple that meant a lot to alot of people. The popularity of the show persists even today as most 90s television shows tend to. All across the internet people still use gifs of Salem firing off witty or sassy comments at the Spellmans. Ever since Riverdale aired fans have wondered when or even if Sabrina would show up in Riverdale and then for her own spinoff and now we finally have our answer. News of the new television show has everyone excited especially those of us who are Riverdale fans and we just want the show and the character done justice.

Published by Tevin Murphy

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