Netflix’s dark reboot of 90s favourite Sabrina the Teenage Witch has found its big bad. The spiritual sequel to The CW’s Riverdale has already unveiled its lead actress Kiernan Shipka and given us our first look at Sabrina’s fan favourite talking cat Salem. Now, we know that Doctor Who star Michelle Gomez will be terrorizing the young Ms. Spellman on the show.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Gomez – who starred as Missy, the first female incarnation of the Doctor’s nemesis the Master, on the past few seasons of Doctor Who – will be joining the Netflix series. The actress will play Sabrina’s favourite teacher who gets possessed by an evil sorceress, and here’s how the site described the character:
“Gomez will play Mary Wardell, Sabrina’s favorite teacher and mentor at Baxter High. When she is possessed by the Devil’s handmaiden, Madam Satan, Ms. Wardell turns into a sultry, cunning manipulator who is always trying to lure Sabrina down the Path of Night.”
In other news, upcoming British actor Chance Perdomo has signed on to play Ambrose Spellman, Sabrina’s English cousin. This is how THR sums up the role:
“Placed under house arrest by the Witches Council, Ambrose is forbidden from leaving the funeral home where he lives with the Spellman women. Witty, puckish and pan-sexual, he is one of Sabrina’s partners in crime, always up for mischief.”
Both of these additions suggest that, just as expected, the series will hue fairly closely to The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the mature reboot of the classic heroine published by Archie Comics. Though some of the details in these descriptions are different, both characters feature in the comic book series.
Look out for the new Sabrina – the official title has yet to be revealed – on Netflix at some point in late 2018.
