Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020) User Reviews

Went from a promising dark teen series to a total train wreck

[dietaube · 6/10 · 6 January 2021]

The series starts strong in the first season with interesting characters and a dark tone, that the original didn't have. But sadly it all goes down quickly for an almost lighthearted goofy series at the end, including lots of singing and dancing and mysterious strong characters turning into silly shadows of themselves at the end. Characters who have had a strong goal seem to just be carried away to a point of just existing for the sake of being there. Character development jumps back and forth, in one episode they feel this way, in another they feel the opposite and so on. Furthermore the story becomes more ridiculous on every episode leading to a total train wreck that is the finale.

I really recommend the first season and then just forget that there are three more to watch.

Season 3 is one facepalm after another

[kaylavan · 6/10 · 25 January 2020]

I actually really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2. I thought the story was interesting. This season is all over the place and it's not helped by the fact that the main character keeps making dumb decisions. I could understand her being oblivious in the first year, since it's all new territory, but this whole "I'm so love struck that I can't possibly be rational" is just tired. Couple that with both Pagans AND the Dark Lord creating havoc, all while Sabrina has to prove she has what it takes to rule hell??? It's just too much.

The final episode cost it a star

[mhorg2018 · 7/10 · 4 January 2021]

A very entertaining show with a great lead and supporting cast. Bringing in the two actresses who played Sabrina's aunt's in the TV show (which I never watched) was a great Easter egg. But the finale was a downer and felt rushed.

Part 1 and 2 were awesome, now part 3 is turned into some cheesy teen pop musical series

[taito-300-754519 · 9/10 · 6 February 2020]

Why did they have to kill all the nice dark chills this show had in part 3? How did they even suppose it'll be a good thing to kill what the show was and was loved by us the audience for and turn it into some cheesy teen pop musical instead? I see no logic in ruining something that was just right and had a fan base and turn it into something very different by adding these repulsive scenes that were almost never in the previous two parts and totally changing the feel of the show. I'm disappointed, I loved the previous parts, but now since part 3's 2nd episode I am not even sure if I want to continue watching it, too much cringe. It seems like this cheesy teen singing stuff just killed it for me. Thanks a lot for ruining yet another good series that had great potential.

What's wrong with season 3?

[faewithpowers · 8/10 · 25 January 2020]

Why Sabrina is a musical now? I am very disappointed.

Please season 4 writers, I'm begging you, fix this trainwreck.

[BelleBelleBelle · 7/10 · 23 February 2020]

I love this show. I love the characters, the gothic themes, the humour, clever dialogue, the sexual innuendo, mystical spell casting etc etc.

But this one was just all over the place. I agree with a previous reviewer that I feel bad for the actors. I think they all do a great job, and gave their performances every effort with a frightening storyline/script. The musical element at the end of Season 2 was fine...because I'm a big opera fan.

But with the subsequent musical scenes... especially with cheerleading - watch 'Bring it on' before attempting something unrealistic and cringe-paged (I also doubt that 'new cheer girls' would get centre stage, I know it's Sabrina, Queen of Hell, but the rest of the school doesn't know that.) I had to warn my partner in advance that there would be some painful singing coming up. If you're going the musical route - do it properly so that it's entertaining to anyone i.e. so the 'non-musical' folk are not silently gagging.

The season's 'drama' was too much. It completely desensitised me when I should have been awed and nervous. When you go too hard too fast, you lose effect i.e. When you keep up with the 'end of the world' 'everyone dies forever' 'the devil isn't all that scary', you lose impact and power over your audience. I was justifiably terrified of 'The Dark Lord' in season 1, this dwindled toward the end of season 2, and was absolutely non-existent in season 3. The new contender for Hell's throne was starting to seem like a plot line worth pursuing from a romance perspective but he just went to dust without any climax or worthy scene. (I predicted he found a better gig midway so the writers just wrapped his character up)

Even Sabrina, the teenager, is completely self-determining and just knowing she can do what she wants, how she wants, just takes away from any realism since there are no rules for her. She does not listen to her Aunties, she angrily chastised them in season 1 (when they had good reason to lie) and made them promise 'no more secret's and all she does Is lie to them and let them find out in the worst ways. And even when it turns to crap, she doesn't apologise or have any awareness of what she is playing with - it's always a defensive 'well, I did it because I had a good reason...' not a remorseful 'ok, I thought it was a good idea but I can see you were right and I had no idea and should never have done it'. Whether on Earth, or in Hell, she just does what she wants and to Hell with the consequences, she'll just cry about it later and try to make it right in her righteous way, forgetting she is the cause of it all.

The academy of unseen arts - wonderful title. But I thought it was a long standing academy, like a smaller Hogwarts, and from the end of season 2 we are left with an average of 10 students. I was underwhelmed by this. The same goes for Hell - you can't tell me after a zillion years you only have a party of 12 hovering around to grumble about a lack of king. And all the other witches summoned in the land equates to... 4 or 5? I know extra faces are expensive, but I'm sure there was enough budget for a few more extras or scenes to make the season look like more than a stage-play amongst extended relatives. The only setting which really nails this is Baxter high, and I was actually surprised enough to comment that there appear to be students in the corridors and it actually looks like a high school. Unfortunately, most of the action happens off School grounds.

Prudence was always a dignified and sharp-witted character. Now she irrationally flips on Ambrose for things beyond his control (and who ironically has more reason to flip on her when she was happy to have him executed knowing he was innocent and 'honourable').

Please, for the love of Satan/Sabrina/Callahan/greenman, revert to the structured ways of season 1, and the same equation every other successful series utilises that guarantees longevity (like CSI, Supernatural, etc etc) - let the characters deal with one problem/theme/issue at a time, per episode (e.g. the episode - Dreams in a witchouse was one of my favourites). The lead's issues can simmer away in the background. It keeps us entertained and keeps us interested. It keeps us coming back for the next dilemma to be solved or disaster to be averted. Save the real disasters for the season finales and deal with them properly.

The 'go two separate ways sabrina' logic makes no sense - they are both still SABRINA. So unless they are planning to switch now and then, it wouldn't work. And where/how/what the hell did the second Sabrina come from the get the jump on Callahan ? I may not have paid enough attention because I'd lost interest.

There is of course so much more to say but I will end my lengthy criticism there. I am only this critical because I love this series and I am terrified that season 3 has destroyed chances for a continuation.

Seasons 1 & 2 are great. Season 3 is bad.

[babbittc · 8/10 · 8 April 2020]

The first two seasons are great. Great writing, great theming, great plots, music and mood is excellent. Even the acting is really good. Then at the very last episode of season 2 you can just feel what's coming, it's like everyone is thinking, wow, our show is really popular now and we can just do whatever we want next season. The first episode of season 3 is total cornball. The music is stupid. The acting is cheesy/corny. The writing is awful. It's like the show went directly from Netflix to Nickelodeon. I don't know if all the producers and writers walked away or what happened but the show just sucks now. We literally had to step away from a show that we blissfully binge watched for two seasons and that saddens me.

Mixed bag

[Calicodreamin · 6/10 · 10 January 2021]

The first two seasons are exceptional, the third and fourth seasons descend into poorly written madness. Overall, I'd say I'm glad I watched but also glad its over. Decent acting and good cinematography throughout.

Poor direction,no storyline, confusing title. pathetic show

[meghna-gautam27 · 28 October 2018]

Why did u do it netflix ? why ? why did u take our fav show frm childhood & ruined it beyond recovery. Riverdale itself is a mediocre show & d same director for sabrina. I don know where to start d show is nothin about magic , spells , good visuals or for dat matter a storyline.The visuals are cheap as if its shot in a freaking tent !. The actings skills of most of the actors including sabrina sometimes not dat fascinating. It could have been a beautiful show instead one having cheap background scenes , overacting, 0 storyline & poor poor direction. Even if its a new adaptation & not a remake it could have been so mch more about the witches & spells & magic rather than js a girl trying to prove her point & claim her freedom.How is that witchery ? Not sure what they are trying to show. Bad bad bad show man

Part 3 what?

[adamsra-73328 · 8/10 · 25 January 2020]

Was so excited for the part 3 release but was disappointed quickly. So much going on everywhere in part 3 it was hard to keep my attention. Hopeful for a part 4 comeback as this series still has potential somewhere.

A Watered-down Version of a Stellar Horror Comic

[scarlettyforest · 6/10 · 26 October 2018]

IMDb crashed and deleted my long review, so :'''))) I'm going to keep this short: I understand why fans of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" are rating this series so highly, because they think it's a fresh and exciting take, however, this is a poor adaptation of the actual comic this is based on, a horror comic titled "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Moving past the fresh and exciting ideas of the comic, it's not a compelling representation of them.

• This series waters down SO much. In the original comic, there was a heavy emphasis on Sabrina's aunts being cannibals, graphic scenes of Hell and Satanic rituals, nudity and gore were EVERYWHERE. It immediately set a legitimate horror tone for the comic, whereas you never get the feeling in this tv show like something bad might happen to the characters. It feels too "nice" and like an obvious tv production, like Riverdale. There's not the same standard of narrative tension.

-They also jumble up the story wildly (and remove some of the best aspects) from the comic - I assume to stretch it out so they can add them in later. And while you can argue that this is an adaptation and it doesn't need to be the same, the point is that it's not better - in fact, it's less interesting. For an example - this isn't even a spoiler because its not in the show - in the comic, Harvey follows Sabrina to her dark baptism and get murdered/eaten by witches (and then brought back to life through necromancy). But the point of him being there was incredibly important to **certain** decisions for Sabrina, and it's exciting (hello!! murdering the love interest and then necromancy? awesome). But they just cut it out. And the resulting scene is just, less important for her as a character, and its duller

-There are storylines inserted (mainly high school drama ones) that add nothing to the show other than confusing its tone.

-Netflix shows should have the luxury of "showing" not "telling" and allowing for a more cinematic experience. I couldn't count the number of times that people's backstories and personalities were just explained through dialogue instead of showing us.

• There's a couple of problems with continuity, jarring edits and an overuse of short focal length and blur in the cinematography. To me, this plays like something which should have been picked up on in the edit, and been fixed during reshoots (which is a professional standard) but it wasn't.

Overall, there are positives about this series (set design is good, it is also atmospheric in places, and I don't mind the actors), but when you really look at this series, it plays like Riverdale, which is ""okay"" if they're pandering to a younger audience, but this series could have been something GREAT in the vein of more serious adaptations like the Haunting of Hill House. I highly recommend that if you're unsure about what I'm talking about, read the comic series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina", because it's definitely more arresting than this.

This is not a remake of the sitcom..

[TheFarscapeProject747 · 9/10 · 26 October 2018]

I rarely write reviews but I felt the need to. As I said this is not a remake, Its a new adaptation of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic that's been out for the past few years. So sorry anyone reading this if you think that this show is going to be the same as the light hearted sitcom you are going to be disappointed cuz this is NOT your parents Sabrina the Teenage Witch nor is it a kids show it's a dark story with a teenage lead, and unlike the sitcom Sabrina knows that she's a witch from the start which is also another thing from the comic. Also I've seen a few negative reviews here say that Salem was replaced by some random person her cousin, but just so you know Ambrose is in the comic so he's not out of nowhere and Salem is in it he just doesn't talk. As for the negative reviews from people throwing out the words "Agenda" and "Propaganda" simply because It has the young characters making a women's rights club, has non white characters and a transgendered teen? God forbid they make a show about a teenage girl with powers have at least some feminism and diversity in it, but I guess some people just want to feel threatened by that so don't listen to them. I guess they never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer which had all of that. I will admit that it might seem disconcerting to see all the satanist witches stuff at first, but if you watch the second episode you will realize that this supposed "real free will" religion is an illusion, there are even more rules, restrictions and hypocrisy than any other one. Anyway the only other thing I was disappointed with was they did take out the Salem can talk thing from the comic cuz I found him amusing but but other than that The whole season was great, the cinematography is excellent and all the actors do a great job.

Not bad, but a little on the annoying side

[watkinsleesa · 7/10 · 1 November 2018]

After recently reading the comics of the same title, I was extremely excited for this series. I found it a refreshing spin on the original 90's version, which was cute but I was never that in to it. But, honestly you really can't call this a remake. My biggest issues are with Sabrina's annoying damn friends. This ridiculous obsession with Harvey and the hypocrisy that is her "i don't want to join the club but i want the benefits" mindset. Like it exhausting watching her put her friends and family in danger constantly and then turn around and say she's doing it all so that she can maintain her freedom. Overall i still like the show and some of the main characters, but it's a bit tiresome watching Sabrina's silly character run all over the place.

So much wasted potential.

[teiixeiral · 5/10 · 4 January 2021]

In the beginning this show was a breath of fresh air. The sets and overall visual style of the show created such a rich atmosphere and the story was enthralling to watch. Witch shows are rarely this dark and satanic but it worked.

Unfortunately, each season the writing/story got worse, not better. In the end, season 4 was an empty, boring mess. I actually get why Netflix cancelled it because the quality of the writing had drastically decreased with every season and the expensive budget surely wasn't feasible any longer considering people have definitely stopped watching.

This is the second show that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has now destroyed with his horrible writing/pacing. He's quickly becoming one of those showrunners who cannot sustain good storytelling throughout a series run.

Horrible

[morning-glory-17023 · 7 November 2018]

This so called remake is a terrible movie. It is nothing close to the a regional beloved TV show and shouldn't even be called a remake. Producers a just ruining good shows. Will not watch.

So, so bad

[kimberleyvewhite · 8/10 · 28 October 2018]

I wanted to love this show . I was completely fine with it not being like the sitcom . I love dark shows and witches but Sabrina is so annoying . The writing is so corny and Sabrina and Zelda speak so stuck up. Not because of Zelda's accent . When Sabrina goes of on her little rants her voice gets so uppity. And she's a terrible actor . Also do we really need to get political ? No one in high school acts like this . Sooooo bad

Chilling

[manukrishnano · 9/10 · 8 June 2022]

I recently finished all the episodes. It was a dark mood from the beginning to end, i was very much excited to watch every new episodes. The perfomance of the character who played Sabrina was outstanding and nothing to say about it . At the last episode my heartbeat raised and felt a dark. After all it was a wonderful series.

I was expecting more

[cavarollpepe · 6/10 · 22 November 2018]

I was excited based on previews but after the pilot I don't think I can watch anymore. The "what year is this" idea is fun and I've seen it used successfully elsewhere but it doesn't really work here (it's the 1960s, but woke!). Sabrina is played in a very polished, actor-ly way, which works against the dark vibe the show is otherwise trying to establish.

As the episodes go further my interest go lower

[info-21332 · 8/10 · 29 October 2018]

At the beginning I was amazed by show, loved the touch of horror and crime, loved the conflict between aunties/sisters Zelda and Hilda. But, few last episodes were boring mainly because of main character Sabrina. Why she can't be smart, wicked, good and bad in same time. They had to ruin her with '' choose help from stranger, over your own family?! " seriously?! Waiting for season 2 to see if they will change the way how they will proceed with Sabrina character. The rest of the characters are amazingly good written.

Still on the fence after 7 episodes.

[dklecan · 6/10 · 18 December 2018]

Loved the original Sabrina. A lighthearted story about a witch, her goofy cat, aunts, and teenage problems. A show that you can watch any time, any episode and have fun. This version, except for the fact that the Sabrina actress looks very much like the original, has little similarities.

I can't think of any pros but i can up with tons of cons: 1) it is very slow moving, 2) Sabrina, the protagonist is an annoyong "know it all," 3) there is the Dark Lord, satanism, demons, cannabilism, hell, monsters in a mine, and other creept gross things which are all over-emphasized over the witches theme, 4) the show takes itself extremely serious, there are very few moments of lightheartiness, 5) the show is too dark!!! (And by dark i mean I can't see it! I live in the Southwest...lots of sunlight, windows, skylights, I actually can't watch the show during the day), and lastly, 6) like every show in the 21st century, it has tons conspiracies, so episodes have to be streamed consecutively.

Remember Reaper? The hilarous CW show, where the son of the devil and his slacker co-workers at Home Depot battle demons. Why can't they produce shows like that...a fun balance betwee teen angst, demons, and comedy? Everyone takes the demon demon fantasy shows so serious!!

Pulpy and Entertaining

[Farganger · 10/10 · 8 April 2019]

I've enjoyed both seasons, but the second really got cooking about half way through. Very much looking forward to the next two seasons.

Sabrina the (Social Justice Warrior) Witch

[dshayder · 6/10 · 29 October 2018]

While I love the darker tone of this series it's really spoiled by over abundance of SJW moments. From the tearing down of the white patriarchy to the acceptance of rape/assault culture afforded to white males of privilege, onto the idea that women are superior to men in every way to the burdens of the LBGTQ community. These themes permeate a truly excellent reimagining of the tv show. Eye roll after eye roll occurred at these preachy moments. While these issues should be addresed in our culture, it appeared that the writers of this series were trying to include as many as they could into the first season. I applaud societal progress but spoonfuls are more enjoyable than trying to swallow a dump truck full.

Refreshingly Different

[tkelley-60727 · 10/10 · 7 April 2019]

This is my first review and deservingly so. Its cheeky, daramatic, pleasantly gory, and it has perfect moments of needed comedy. NETFLIX did a great job with this one.

Potential but...

[patrick-oc · 6/10 · 14 November 2018]

There's no jeopardy. None. We know she grows up to be a teenage witch then goes off to college, so let's not pretend she's ever in mortal peril. Find me another hook? There's some clever writers, you can do it.

Whilst you're at it, please hire Michelle Gomez another voice coach. Or even better, just let her use her own voice. She is a fabulous actress, wonderful to look at and fills every role she's ever taken, full of awesomeness. Except for when she speaks in This show and I'm transported to any of a thousand park benches in the UK, occupied by a drunken Glaswegian.

The cast is really strong. Please, give them a script and storylines to reflect their talent. Lighten up a bit too. I couldn't care less what path Sabrina chooses. Neither are exactly free of teen angst or dreariness. At least Buffy had some humour. And she clearly provided some storylines along with Supernatural.

And to the director: THERES NO SHAME IN HAVING YOUR CAMERAS IN FOCUS.

I won't give up on you. I still have visions of marrying Mellisa Joan, so I feel I owe it to myself.

Season 3 ruined the series

[katharineacuff-79976 · 5/10 · 25 January 2020]

Season 3 is Scooby Doo meets Highs School Musical. The musical numbers that are jammed into the episodes make no sense