What I know of Sabrina is that Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a spin-off of Archie Comics in the 1960s, and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a spin-off of Archie Horror Comics from a few years ago. The difference is that the newer version is for a more mature audience, think less comedy and more horror.
Sabrina 1962.
I did catch a couple of episodes of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch starring Melissa Joan Hart when it originally aired in the late 1990s. I remember thinking the show was hokey and being annoyed that they had an episode where they go to Salem, MA, ONLY IT WASN'T ANYTHING LIKE SALEM! They used a fake talking cat for most of the episodes, and my friends tell me it was their favorite part of the show, but I found it painful to watch.
Sabrina with fake cat playing Salem 1990s.
So this new version hooked me with a preview. It has horror, current fashion does 1960s style (although some of the dresses look like true vintage), dry humor, and a REAL cat actor to play Salem, Sabrina's familiar. (p.s. Black cats are the best.)
Who knew the Satanic Temple would get their panties in a bunch over a TV show based on a comic book? Well they did! In the show Sabrina attends a witch school that has a giant statue of Baphomet ~ symbol of the modern Satanist movement ~ in the center of the doorway when you walk into the school. I immediately recognized it, as I'm sure everyone else did. It's a copyrighted by the Satanic Temple. Whoever was in charge of props for the show really should have either done their research, changed it enough to make it a little less recognizable, or got an "ok" from the Satanic Temple. As a result, the Satanic Temple has sued to the tune of 50 million dollars. Nov. 21, 2018 the lawsuit was been settled, but damn Satanic Temple needs to chill. If anything it's great publicity.
Satanic Temple vs. poor knock-off Sabrina statue.
On a similar topic, why is there a Satanic symbol in a school of witches? I would venture to guess that it's just an interpretation from a comic book and practicing pagans and witches shouldn't get too bent out of shape about it. Witches do not equal devil worshipers. Here's a nice article addressing the topic.
Overall, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a timeless show. It does address current hot button topics like misogyny, discrimination, domestic violence etc., but those things have been going on behind closed doors forever. I'm glad it was renewed for another season, and I'm looking forward to watching the other Archie fan-favorite Riverdale.
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