Melissa Joan Hart portrayed Sabrina Spellman, a.k.a. ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ for seven seasons on the ABC sitcom, a staple of its TGIF lineup. But now, Netflix is presenting a new, darker, dramatic version of the character on its new series ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’. ‘Mad Man’ vet, Kiernan Shipka has claimed the titular role on the new series, created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the man behind The CW’s sensation ‘Riverdale’ and ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ is looking to emulate the style that has made that show such a breakout hit.
Hart is promoting the ‘God’s Not Dead’ DVD boxed set, but people can’t stop asking her about ‘Sabrina’. Judging by her curt responses, it seems as though she wishes they would.
When Bloody Disgusting asked if the producers of the new series had reached out to her, she replied “No, they haven’t. I have no feelings about it [the show] really.” She added that ‘Chilling Adventures’ is just another example of Hollywood going back to familiar properties. “Everybody’s remaking everything,” she said. Finally, she stated, “I’m glad they’re not just duplicating [‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch].”
In all fairness, Hart’s ‘Sabrina’ was an adaptation of the long-running Archie comics series starting in 1962 and was turned into an animated series that aired from 1970-74 on CBS on Saturday mornings. But the sitcom arguably reached a wider audience and having lasted seven years, made a pretty strong mark. Hart has, in the past, teased a revival of her series, similar to fellow TGIF series ‘Full House’ which returned on Netflix as ‘Fuller House’. But since the rights to ‘Sabrina’ belong to Archie Comics, it was their call to move forward with a supernatural drama to compliment ‘Riverdale’ rather than revive the sitcom.
Meanwhile, Hart’s costar, Nate Richert, who played on-again-off-again boyfriend Harvey Kinkle– a role that will be played by Ross Lynch on ‘Chilling Adventures’– has opened up about his post-‘Sabrina’ life in support of ‘Cosby Show’ actor Geoffrey Owens, who was “job shamed” by an article in the Daily Mail in which a shopper snapped a photo of him working at Trader Joes. Many entertainment professionals rallied to support Owens, pointing at their own experiences working a “day job” when acting roles got scarce and Richert is among them, stating:
“I’m currently a maintenance man, a janitor, a carpenter, and do whatever random jobs I can get to pay the bills. I do improv and songwrite to maintain my sanity. Actors so very rarely have job security or consistent work, quality healthcare, a reasonable retirement… Fame, to me, has only ever meant ‘maybe more work someday.’ A necessary evil because fame = the loss of anonymity, which can be uplifting when it brings someone joy, and hard when mean people decide to be mean.”
The first ten-episode season of Netflix’s ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ will be available to binge in its entirety on October 27th.
Additional Source: E!
