It's difficult to envision an alternate universe in which Chilling Adventures of Sabrina aired on The CW as a companion to Riverdale, as originally planned. Sure, they're both mature reimaginings of beloved Archie Comics characters, but whereas on Riverdale that translates to sometimes-inappropriate relationships, drugs and the occasional murder, on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that means cannibalism, human sacrifice and declarations of "Hail Satan," by protagonists, no less. It's a dark -- dark! -- coming-of-age story that feels right at home on Netflix, where it's unlikely to be mistaken for its much safer broadcast cousin.

Basking in the influences of such 1960s and '70s horror films as Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Blood on Satan's Claw and The Wicker Man, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a glorious mess that, by all rights, shouldn't work, and yet it does -- even as it often feels as if it could spin out of control at any moment. It's frequently manic, occasionally frightening, and always entertaining.

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Mad Men actress Kiernan Shipka stars as Sabrina Spellman, a half-human, half-witch teenager who lives with her doting aunts, Hilda (Lucy Davis) and Zelda (Miranda Otto). That much of the premise will be familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of the comics or the 1990s television comedy. There's also Sabrina's human boyfriend Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), her cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) and her feline familiar Salem. Beyond that, though, everything about Sabrina's hometown of Greendale is viewed through a fun house mirror, smeared with blood. That's because, on her 16th birthday, Sabrina is expected to renounce her human life, and sign her name in blood in the Book of the Beast, pledging her life to the service of the Dark Lord (hail Satan). However, that's not exactly what Sabrina has in mind, a decision that sets into motion a series of events that threatens not only her and her family, but the entire town.

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

Torn between her love for her human friends and her devotion to her family, the quick-witted Sabrina is determined to find a way to outsmart the Devil, and Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle), the High Priest of the Church of Night, and live with one foot in each world. But every step of the way, she's manipulated by forces as disparate as her loving aunts, the trouble-making Weird Sisters, and Ms. Wardell (Michelle Gomez), a Baxter High teacher who's secretly possessed by Satan's handmaiden. What's a teenager to do?

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If you're Sabrina Spellman, you fight, and try to do the right thing, even if you sometimes make matters worse in the process. Like most 16-year-olds, whether witch or human, Sabrina is nowhere near as smart or as worldly as she thinks she is, as her Auntie Zee will happily remind her. And when you're messing with witchcraft and the forces of darkness, the stakes are high, for Sabrina, for her friends and family, and for the quirky, blue-collar town of Greendale. There are worse things than death, after all -- eternal damnation, for starters.

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Like so much modern witchcraft fiction, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is about female empowerment, which works incredibly well given the title character is a teenager trying to find her voice, a theme that manifests most obviously in Sabrina's scandalous rejection of tradition (Dark Baptism), but also in smaller ways, like she and her friends challenging Baxter High's patriarchy (represented both by Principal Hawthorne, played by Bronson Pinchot, and by the bullying jocks). While ultimately serving the Dark Lord, the possessed Ms. Wardell encourages Sabrina's rebellious streak in the human world while setting herself up as a rival to Father Blackwood, who himself is devoted to preserving a sinister status quo.

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and based on the comic he created with artist Robert Hack, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is as comfortable with sexual politics as it is with sexuality, with her charming pansexual cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) and her nonbinary friend Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson) positioned as essential characters, with important roles to play in the 10-episode first season.

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Even when surrounded by seasoned actors like Miranda Otto, Richard Coyle, Lucy Davis and Michelle Gomez, Shipka holds her own as Sabrina, although Sally Draper occasionally seeps through. She's at turns overly confident and hopelessly adrift, but always trying to do what's right, even when she's not always certain what that is. What Sabrina is sure of is that she loves Harvey Kinkle, an endearingly wholesome romance that keeps her anchored to the human world, and leads to one of her most costly mistakes.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is fearless, even reckless, in its ambition to marry its horror movie influences to the 56-year-old comic book source material, while weaving in modern themes and sensibilities. However, it's a risk that largely pays off, from the elaborate mythology to the wonderfully realized setting to the sprawling cast of characters, virtually all of whom beg to be followed in their own stories. But this is Sabrina's, and we're more than happy to see where that one leads, in Season 1 and beyond.


Arriving Friday, Oct. 26, on Netflix, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina stars Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman, Ross Lynch as Harvey Kinkle, Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardwell/Madam Satan, Jaz Sinclair as Rosalind Walker, Chance Perdomo as Ambrose Spellman, Lucy Davis as Hilda Spellman, Miranda Otto as Zelda Spellman and Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood.