Television series

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Name: Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Released: 1996
Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Nick Bakay, Beth Broderick, Caroline Rhea, Nate Richert

Wholesome, quippy, and endlessly rerun-friendly, this is TGIF comfort food where every clumsy spell doubles as a metaphor for growing up. A sarcastic talking cat, a stuffy vice-principal, and low-stakes magical mishaps carry the show more than any plot ever does. It's gentle, funny, and unashamedly aimed at teenagers navigating school, boys, and identity — nostalgic sitcom rhythm without a hint of prestige-TV edge.

TVMaze rating

7.5

If you liked this

Bewitched1964

The original suburban witch sitcom — Samantha twitches her nose and upends 1960s domesticity with the same wry charm Sabrina would borrow decades later. Elizabeth Montgomery is effortlessly funny.

But The gender politics are very much of their era, and the pacing is slower and stagier than modern sitcoms.

Charmed1998

Three witch sisters juggling demons and dating in San Francisco — same magical-mishap engine as Sabrina, but aimed at an older, soapier audience with real stakes.

But Gets increasingly convoluted with mythology across eight seasons, and the tone shifts darker than Sabrina ever does.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer1997

Also a teen girl hiding a supernatural identity from her high school, but Buffy plays it as tragedy, romance, and horror as often as comedy — a masterclass in tonal range.

But Considerably darker and more violent, with emotional gut-punches Sabrina never attempts.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

I Married a Witch1942

Sabrina's whole premise — witch tangled up in ordinary romantic and domestic chaos — traces straight back to this screwball comedy, made decades before Bewitched or Sabrina existed.

Veronica Lake plays a witch out for revenge on the descendant of the man who wronged her centuries ago, and ends up falling for him instead — the screwball ancestor of every 'witch adjusts to mortal life' story since.

But Black-and-white, 1940s pacing, and a very different comic register — expect wit rather than gags.

Wizards of Waverly Place2007no page yet

Disney Channel's answer to Sabrina — sibling wizards competing for a family title, same slapstick spell-gone-wrong plotting, aimed squarely at tweens who grew up on reruns.

But Louder, broader, and more Disney-Channel-shiny; some of the wit Sabrina had gets replaced with mugging.

Hocus Pocus1993

Bumbling, delightfully campy witches wreak havoc on a Halloween night — pure family-friendly spell comedy with the same appetite for silly magic over dark menace.

But It's a single Halloween romp, not an ongoing character study, and the humor is broader and more slapstick.

Practical Magic1998

What Sabrina's aunts might grow into — two witch sisters wrestling with family curses, love, and small-town gossip, blending cozy charm with real melancholy.

But More adult and romantic in focus, with grief and loss threaded through the comedy that Sabrina keeps light.

Teen Witch1989no page yet

A cult curio from the late '80s about a girl who discovers her powers right before prom — pure cheesy charm and the direct tonal cousin to Sabrina's high school magic.

But The effects and dance numbers are extremely dated, and it's more of a guilty pleasure than a polished watch.

The Craft1996

Same premise — teenage girl discovers witchcraft — pushed into darker, more dangerous territory, with cliques and power trips replacing sitcom warmth.

But Much darker and more disturbing than anything Sabrina attempts, with real menace instead of gentle life lessons.

Boy Meets World1993

No magic here, but the same '90s TGIF warmth, life-lesson structure, and earnest coming-of-age comedy that made Sabrina's Thursday nights feel like home.

But No supernatural hook at all — if you loved Sabrina specifically for the witchcraft, this won't scratch that itch.

Kiki's Delivery Service1989

Same coming-of-age engine as Sabrina — a young witch leaving home, testing her powers, and figuring out independence — but told with Studio Ghibli's patience and warmth instead of sitcom punchlines.

A thirteen-year-old witch moves to a new city and starts a delivery business, and the film finds real tenderness in the small anxieties of growing up and losing your confidence.

But It's gentle, slow, and largely plotless by sitcom standards — nothing like Sabrina's joke-a-minute rhythm.

The Witch2016

It's the same premise stripped of every joke: a teenage girl's dawning supernatural power tearing her family apart, except here it curdles into dread instead of a laugh track.

A 17th-century Puritan family unravels as their daughter's supposed witchcraft turns suspicion and paranoia against her — slow-burning, meticulously researched horror that takes the 'is she a witch?' question deadly seriously.

But Bleak, slow, and genuinely frightening — the tonal opposite of Sabrina in almost every way.