Something wicked this way comes... to Netflix. A brand new clip teasing the streaming site’s upcoming Chilling Adventures of Sabrina dropped this Friday the 13th. And true to its name, it’s absolutely, well, chilling.
Netflix rolled out the show’s Twitter and Instagram accounts at the same time, hitting unsuspecting fans with a tantalising, cryptic first look at the series. While the 10-second clip isn’t giving us any further details on Kiernan Shipka’s Sabrina Spellman (or the rest of the Spellman clan, including Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Salem the cat), it does set the tone for the series pretty effectively, wholly embracing the “witch” part of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series.
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As the teaser plays, faded, red-tinged images flicker over each other: a full moon and gnarled tree branches, a lit cluster of candles, a close-up of a black cat’s eyes, a sketch of a girl covered in blood, another holding a book labeled “Necromancing.” And that creepy, scratchy music — does it remind you of anything? Any critically acclaimed anthology series that trades in some of the lushest, most terrifying imagery on television? We have to say, we think Ryan Murphy would be pretty impressed.
Something wicked this way comes.... The @sabrinanetflix account is up and running. Getting closer....this is going to be a wild ride. Get onboard! pic.twitter.com/Sl9KI0MLsE
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) July 13, 2018
The parallels to American Horror Story: Coven continue as the images give way to a scrawled-out invitation: “Join the coven. We’re waiting for you.”
In a much lighter, tongue-and-cheek video posted on Instagram shortly after the teaser, some of the series cast, including Shipka, echo the welcome.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is based on the comics of the same name, with no relation to the popular 1996 ABC series — although it was at one point tied to Netflix’s smash hit Riverdale, which Netflix (not coincidentally) carries on its site. But it’s still unclear how the shows will be related, if at all. CW president Mark Pedowitz told Entertainment Weekly in January that “there is no discussion about crossing over” between the shows at the moment, but who knows what the future holds for the Archie universe.
Unfortunately, Netflix is pretty tight-lipped about the first season release date (the show is signed on for two seasons already). But while there aren’t any more Friday the 13ths coming up this year, we’re willing to speculate that we just might see the show pop up on our watchlist sometime this fall — perhaps around Halloween? That seems fitting for our favourite teenage witch.