According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Archie Comics-based The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has been picked up to series by Netflix with a two-season, 20-episode order, which will begin shooting this February. The series was originally put into development by The CW this past September.
The interest from Netflix comes as no surprise as Riverdale received a significant Netflix deal before it premiered last season and rode summer word-of-mouth to stratospheric ratings for its second season premiere. Sabrina was thought to be a shoe-in for a series order from The CW, which has been behind Riverdale from the moment it moved over from FOX, so its absence from the network’s development opens up a pilot (and series order) slot for something less tied to an established IP. As they will now be airing in different places, one might wonder if the two series will still be potentially connected.
Sabrina is also the second recent CW-developed show to move to Netflix, joining Insatiable, which was ordered this past August. The series is said to reimagine the adventures of teenage witch Sabrina, who was the basis for the 1996 comedy that starred Melissa Joan Hart, in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will follow Sabrina as she wrestles with her status as half-witch, half-mortal while preparing to face off with the evil forces that threaten her family’s safety.
Casting for Sabrina should be announced in the coming weeks.