Television series

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Name: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Genre: Horror, Romance, Supernatural
Released: 2018
Cast: Lucy Davis, Tati Gabrielle, Chance Perdomo, Kiernan Shipka, Jaz Sinclair

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes the beloved sitcom witch and drops her into candlelit gothic horror-romance — velvet robes, blood pacts, a coven that would rather curse you than compliment you. It's soapy, horny and unafraid of real dread alongside the camp. Best for anyone who wants teen drama with actual stakes, literal ones sometimes, and doesn't mind whiplash between prom night and Satanic ritual.

TVMaze rating

7.4

If you liked this

Buffy the Vampire Slayer1997

The blueprint for every witty teen-monster-hunter show since — sharp dialogue, real emotional stakes, and a heroine juggling homework with apocalypse duty. Sabrina owes it a huge debt.

But Early seasons show their budget and their age; some effects and fashion choices haven't aged gracefully.

The Craft1996

Four teenage outcasts discover witchcraft and power goes straight to their heads — moody, stylish, and genuinely a little dangerous, with a coven dynamic Sabrina borrows heavily from.

But Nineties mall-goth aesthetics and pacing feel dated if you want something slicker and faster.

American Horror Story2011

Witches, hierarchy and glamorous cruelty collide in New Orleans — bitchier, bloodier and far less interested in being liked than Sabrina, with a cast gleefully chewing every scene.

But Anthology chaos and shock-value plotting make it messier and far less coherent than a season of Sabrina.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Häxan1922

Sabrina's coven mythology — pacts, Satan worship, witch hunts — isn't invented for the show; this is the film that first dramatized those exact fears as fact, decades before anyone made them fun.

A Swedish silent film that treats witch trials, demonology and Satanic ritual as literal historical fact — staged with theatrical dread, strangeness and startling nudity, nearly a century before Sabrina's coven ever lit a candle.

But Silent and lecture-structured with reenactments — a real patience test if you want narrative momentum rather than history.

Riverdale2017

Same small-town Americana gone wrong, same comic-book pedigree, same gleeful willingness to spiral into absurdity — it even crosses over with Sabrina's universe at points.

But It gets weirder than Sabrina ever does, and by later seasons barely resembles a coherent show at all.

The Vampire Diaries2009

Small-town teens, ancient evil, a witchy best friend and love triangles with real consequences — the supernatural-romance engine Sabrina runs on, just with fangs instead of familiars.

But Eight seasons is a lot, and the central romance drama can crowd out the horror you came for.

Wednesday2022

A gothic teen witch navigating an occult boarding school, deadpan instead of dreamy, with mystery-solving energy and a similarly dark sense of humour about being different.

But Wednesday's icy detachment is the opposite of Sabrina's warmth — if you liked her earnestness, this colder tone might grate.

Charmed1998

Three witch sisters balancing demon-fighting with day jobs and dating — the original template for stylish, sisterhood-powered witchcraft TV, easy to dip into and comforting.

But Very much a product of its era, with monster-of-the-week plotting that feels slight next to Sabrina's serialized stakes.

Hocus Pocus1993

Three resurrected witch sisters terrorize Salem on Halloween night in this gloriously campy classic — pure comfort food if you want witchcraft played for cackling fun rather than dread.

But It's a family film at heart, with none of the sex, blood or genuine menace that gives Sabrina its edge.

Practical Magic1998

A multigenerational family of witches wrestling with a curse, grief and love — softer and more melancholic than Sabrina, but rooted in the same idea that magic runs in the blood and comes with a price.

But Slow and sentimental where Sabrina is quick and mischievous; go in wanting drama, not scares.

The Witch2016

Same coming-of-age premise, a teenage girl discovering dark power just as she comes of age, played entirely straight — it shows exactly how much dread Sabrina chooses to leave out.

A Puritan family disintegrates under suspicion that their daughter has made a deal with the devil — slow, dread-soaked, and treating witchcraft as genuine, terrifying loss of control rather than empowerment.

But No camp, no romance, barely any relief — a punishing watch if you came for Sabrina's warmth and wit.

Kiki's Delivery Service1989

Strip away the Satanism and horror, and Sabrina's core question, can a witch balance power with an ordinary life, is the same one Kiki answers, just kindly instead of darkly.

Studio Ghibli's gentle tale of a young witch leaving home to find her independence, told with warmth and patience and zero horror — proof the teenage-witch coming-of-age story needs no blood at all.

But No danger, no romance subplot, almost no plot in the conventional sense — it's mood and growth, not stakes.