Hollywood North: Sabrina hits a supernatural stride in Season 3 of Chilling Adventures
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2020 20:00:07 +0000
Season 3
When: Premieres Friday, Jan. 24
Where: Netflix
Would you rather hang out in hell or be a cheerleader in high school? Season 3 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina poses this soul-sacrificing question. And the answer? It’s tricky.
Developed by American playwright, screenwriter and Archie Comics chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the supernatural horror web TV drama based on the Archie comic book series of the same name debuted in October 2018.
Centred around half-witch, half-mortal teenager Sabrina Spellman — played by 20-year-old American actor Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) — the Langley-shot show quickly became one of the hottest properties on the streaming service.
Bringing in everything from good old-fashioned monster-of-the-week mayhem to cutting-edge contemporary topics ranging from gender fluidity and identity politics to non-traditional family structures and more, the show shares nothing but the name of its titular character in common with the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch series starring Melissa Joan Hart, which ran from 1996 to 2003.
While fun, the saccharine storylines of that program have nothing in common with such monumental narrative arcs as having Lachlan Watson’s character Susie Putnam transitioning into Theo Putnam in the previous season.
That moments such as this are incorporated into the storylines as mere events that happen in the characters’ day-to-day lives is both refreshingly normal and proof that real-world situations can be seamlessly incorporated into the supernatural one.
Shipka was very aware of this when she took on the Sabrina role, embracing the chance to play a character that is both the powerful daughter of Lucifer Morningstar as well as an awkward teen. Sabrina is always testing boundaries, challenging capabilities and exploring powerful femininity.
“One of my favourite things about the show is that it manages to be an escape from reality while also commenting on society and the times we are in at the same time,” Shipka said.
“Obviously the series is largely about Sabrina wanting to smash the patriarchy, and I’m happy to say that we continue to do so in Season 3. In the process, a lot of the stuff it tackles is really important and current, and that’s making it all part of the world around us.”
Cast members of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 (from left): Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson), Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) and Rosalind Walker (Jaz Sinclair) in the forest in hell.
The talented cast of series regulars includes Tati Gabrielle (Prudence Blackwood), Gavin Leatherwood (Nicholas “Nick” Scratch), Ross Lynch (Harvey Kinkle), Chance Perdomo (Ambrose Spellman), Jaz Sinclair (Rosalind “Roz” Walker), Lachlan Watson (Susie/Theo Putnam) and others.
Seasoned U.K. stars, including Richard Coyle (Father Faustus Blackwood), Lucy Davis (Hilda Spellman), Michelle Gomez (Mary Wardwell/Lilith/Madame Satan) and Miranda Otto (Zelda Spellman) position the adult roles precisely between the realms of camp and credibility.
SPOILER ALERT: Season 3 introduces a trio of newcomers including Caliban, a prince of Hell (Sam Corlett), Robin (Jonathan Whitesell) and Black Lightning’s Skye P. Marshall as voodoo priestess Mambo Marie.
Together, this crew will take up the storyline that ended with Season 2’s cliffhanger where the coven is collapsing, Blackwood is on the lam and the Dark Lord — revealed to be Sabrina’s actual father — is trapped in the body of her boyfriend Nick and abra-cadabra’ed to the realm of eternal flames.
This impacts pretty profoundly upon Sabrina’s love life.
She’s having none of it. The Fright Club — Sabrina, Roz, Harvey and Theo — go full Dante, descending to knick Nick back to the world of warlocks, witches and just plain regular folk. Naturally, life throws a wand in the works and complications ensue.
“Expect a visit from this stupid farm kid in actual Hell, and it’s terrible and it’s great,” said Lachlan Watson.
“But that’s the great thing about this show, the way that Sabrina and her friends just rush right into any situation, whether it’s good or bad. It’s definitely rubbed off on me in my own life, making me less analytical and a little more prone to have spark and adventure.”
Season 3 was teased earlier this month with a preview video of the song titled Straight To Hell featuring Shipka, backed by the appropriately named band Lovecraft. The clip clearly shows that her boots were made for walking, well, where the song says.
Music features throughout the new season, including jams with the band Fright Club. Fans will wonder if a musical episode might just be on the way. At press time, no one in the cast would commit to comment.
One thing is clear at Martini Studios. Season 3 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will pit the teenage witch against the biggest names in the business of the dark arts. As soon as the world gets saved again, something else is going to come knocking at the Spellmans’ door. That’s just how it goes.
Presently about halfway through filming Season 4, Shipka says tracking Sabrina’s emotional experiences is a big part of her process. She takes Sundays to map out where she is at each week to understand where Sabrina is in the story arc. Like most TV and movie productions, nothing is shot in order and each actor employs different methods to stay “consistently in character.”
What many fans want to know most is whether Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is going to conjure up Sabrina in Archie’s world. In its early planning stages, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was initially envisioned as an adjunct series to Riverdale but the show has developed entirely on its own (although Riverdale is said to neighbour the rural mining town of Greendale).
But the character has always been a part of the Archie-verse, so it seems obvious the two shall meet in Season 4, right?
“I want to know if she’s going there, too,” said Shipka. “There are definitely some Riverdale references in the new season, but as far as the jump over to the next town, maybe it happens, maybe it doesn’t. She definitely gets closer to Riverdale.”
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