Netflix is charting its own path to Archie Comics.
The streaming giant has handed out a sizable two-season, 20-episode straight-to-series order for an untitled Sabrina drama based on the Archie Comics graphic novel The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, picking up the intended Riverdale companion series from The CW.
Sabrina was put in development at younger-skewing broadcaster The CW in September. A casting search to play the reimagined teenage witch began almost immediately.
Sources note that The CW and producers Warner Bros. Television had a list of actresses they eyed for the role. That is being revisited given the large commitment and move to Netflix.Sabrina reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age tale that traffics in horror, the occult and witchcraft. It’s described as in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist and finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while fighting the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.
Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who also serves as chief creative officer of Archie Comics, penned the script. Sabrina was originally eyed as a potential companion series for Riverdale to air in the 2018-19 TV broadcast season. Aguirre-Sacasa will direct, and executive produce alongside Riverdale collaborators Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater and Lee Toland Krieger. The drama hails from Warner Bros. Television-based Berlanti Productions.
Sources say the Sabrina order is for two, 10-episode seasons that would shoot back to back with the first batch filming from February to June and second from June to October.
The writers room opens Monday. A premiere date has not been determined and it’s unclear how the 20 episodes will be divided in terms of rollout.That Netflix would invest so heavily in Sabrina should come as little surprise….
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