Netflix Casts Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Kiernan Shipka, the actress best known for playing Sally Draper in Mad Men and B.D. Hyman in Feud: Bette and Joan, has been cast as Sabrina the teenage witch in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. 

“We’re all such huge fans of Kiernan’s work that when we started talking about who this new incarnation of Sabrina could be, her name was on everyone’s wish list,” said Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer and Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who wrote the original Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comics and will also pen the pilot for the TV adaptation. “This is a darker, more macabre version of Sabrina, and we’re incredibly excited for people to see Kiernan make this iconic character her own.”

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa with art by Robert Hack and Jack Morelli, published its first issue in 2014. It reimagined the iconic teenage witch in a darker, more occult coming-of-age story. (Like, “signing your name in the Devil’s book and sacrificing goats” kind of dark.) Netflix’s adaptation will take on a similar tone, following Sabrina as she tries to maintain a normal high school life while she is “just beginning her dark education as a sorceress.” Deadline describes Sabrina as “intelligent, compassionate and brave to the point of recklessness … [she] is all that stands between us and the forces of darkness that threaten our world.”

The adaptation was originally developed over at The CW, intended as a Riverdale spin-off, but it eventually ended up at Netflix with a 20-episode, two-season, straight-to-series order. The pilot will be directed by Lee Toland Krieger and scripted by Aguirre-Sacasa, just like the Riverdale pilot was. Berlanti Productions, the company behind the CW’s Arrowverse shows, will produce in association with Warner Bros. Studios, while Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, Jon Goldwater, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lee Toland Krieger will also serve as executive producers.

I was a huge fan of Shipka’s performance in Mad Men, and I’m excited to see her take on the part of Sabrina. But what do you all think? Was there someone else you were hoping for in the role? Who would you like to see play Harvey? Let me know!

(Via Deadline and Archie Comics; image: Shutterstock)

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