sabrina salem

Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has revealed Salem Saberhagen from the upcoming Netflix series which may or may not be entitled ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’, based on the mature-skewing Archie Comics series.  And it appears that this Salem will be played by an actual cat.  In the classic comics, Salem was simply Sabrina’s pet cat, who couldn’t speak or do anything extraordinary, but the character was reinvented on the sitcom ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ as a former warlock who was sentenced to spend 100 years as a cat as punishment for trying to take over the world.  That version of Salem was a puppet with Nick Bakay providing his voice.

In ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ comic book, Salem follows the sitcom version slightly more closely, but unlike the cantankerous but ultimately caring TV version, this Salem has a much darker streak.

In keeping with the modern version of ‘Riverdale’, ‘Sabrina’ is also a darker take which is said to borrow inspiration from ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Exorcist’:

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.

‘Mad Men”s Kiernan Shipka portrays Sabrina Spellman and Jaz Sinclair plays her best friend Rosalind Walker.  No word on who will voice Salem in the new show.

Aguirre-Sacasa released the first image of Salem via Twitter:

 

No other casting has been announced.  Netflix ordered two ten-episode seasons straight-to-series last year after The CW hesitated.  Production is expected to begin soon but no official release date has been announced.

Check back for more updates as they are released.

Source: Entertainment Weekly