The casting breakdowns for the cast of Netflix’s ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ have been released, giving an idea of what to expect from the new take on the classic Archie Comics characters.
[SABRINA SPELLMAN]Female, Open ethnicity, legal 18 or 18+ to play 16. Sabrina is an empowered young woman, half-human, half-witch, struggling to reconcile her dual natures. She is just beginning her dark education as a sorceress, even as she tries to maintain some semblance of a normal life as a sophomore at Baxter High. Sabrina’s intelligent, compassionate, and brave to the point of recklessness. She challenges witch-doctrine at every turn. She is fiercely loyal to her family and friends; wickedly funny; and in the middle of a star-crossed romance with her classmate Harvey Kinkle. Sabrina is all that stands between us and the Forces of Darkness that threaten our world. SERIES LEAD.
It was previously reported that Sabrina could be any ethnicity. She is Caucasian in the comics with white platinum blonde hair. On ‘Riverdale’ many Caucasian comic characters have been switch to a more ethically diverse mix, such as Veronica (Camila Mendes), who is Latina, Josie (Ashleigh Murray) who is African American and Reggie (Charles Melton) who is Asian American. (For an earlier, similar casting description go here.)
Melissa Joan Hart played Sabrina on the long-running sitcom adaptation.
The description lists her human boyfriend Harvey (Nate Richert, on the original) but there is no description provided. One will surely surface soon, as he is a major part of the story.
Besides Harvey, perhaps the most notable supporting characters from ‘Sabrina’ are her quirky aunts, played by Caroline Rhea (Hilda) and Beth Broderick (Zelda) on the sitcom.
[HILDA SPELLMAN]Female, late 30s to early 40s, All Ethnicities. Hilda is the kinder of the Spellman sisters who are raising Sabrina, though her nurturing nature belies a more ruthless side. She is a healer, a potion-maker, sweet-as-pie until you cross her or anyone she loves. Operating the local funeral home, the sisters hide their witchery from the world while teaching Sabrina spells and incantations at home…ASP SERIES REGULAR
[ZELDA SPELLMAN]Female, late 30s to early 40s, All Ethnicities. Zelda is the harsher of the Spellman sisters who helped raise Sabrina, though her sternness and tough facade might be hiding a more…mothering soul. Unlike Hilda, Zelda claims that she has never known love—her devotion to the Dark Lord is all-consuming—which is why people looking for a love-potion go to Hilda; those looking to make a spite-jar go to Zelda…
There is possibly a little hint in Zelda’s description: “mothing soul,” plus the word “claims” in the phrase “Zelda claims that she has never known love” which may lead to the reveal that she has once known love and that Sabrina is, in fact, her real daughter.
There will be another Spellman included in this series, Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose, who is described below:
[AMBROSE SPELLMAN]Male, early 20s, African American or East Indian, British. Ambrose is Sabrina’s “cousin” and a necromancer. He is witty, puckish, pan-sexual—and loves being a witch. Trapped in the funeral home due to a binding spell, Ambrose lives in the mortuary’s attic and acts as one of Sabrina’s partners in crime…10/13 SERIES REGULAR
There is also no casting description for Salem Saberhagen, the talking cat that is a major part of the story. It’s also unclear how they will render the character on the show. On the old sitcom, he was depicted mainly using puppetry, with the voice of Nick Bakay. On ‘The Chilling Adventures…’ he is most likely going to be rendered using CGI, but that’s just a guess.
After scoring success this summer with the first season of The CW’s ‘Riverdale’, Netflix ordered two seasons of ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’, a series that The CW was on the fence about ordering, due to the possibility of a reboot of ‘Charmed’. The two seasons will shoot back-to-back with production due to begin in February. Each season will consist of ten episodes.
How does this show seem to be shaping up to you?
Source: That Hashtag Show
