Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 26, 2018
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 339 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 199 out of 339
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 339
  3. Negative: 104 out of 339

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User Reviews

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  1. jint3i
    Nov 28, 2018
    3
    Cringeworthy at best and outright rude at worst. This show somehow manages to take a fascinating subject (the occult) and turn it into an unmanageable teenage melodrama (and that is not a compliment). I haven't been this confused about witchcraft since Charmed was syndicated back in the 90s. Hot Topic fashion and the occasional overt Christian story appropriation make this one of the mostCringeworthy at best and outright rude at worst. This show somehow manages to take a fascinating subject (the occult) and turn it into an unmanageable teenage melodrama (and that is not a compliment). I haven't been this confused about witchcraft since Charmed was syndicated back in the 90s. Hot Topic fashion and the occasional overt Christian story appropriation make this one of the most trying television experiences on Netflix to date. The acting is lackluster, often feeling forced. There's little to no attachment to any of the characters because none of them have any appreciable personality (save for Ambrose. Love that guy and he could have easily been the voice of Salem rather than his own standalone character). Not sure what they were going for here as I had the extreme pleasure of growing up on the original series but they certainly missed the mark and their audience.… Expand
  2. Eilanzer
    Oct 26, 2018
    3
    It’s trying to be edgy...moody...but in the end it´s nothing! The script is shallow, and the characters are only mood driven puppets without good lines.
    Jesus, or in the show DARK LORD...or LORD SATAN the dialogue is a cringe fest, RLY RLY CRINGEY!
    And don´t even make me start on the pointless feminism agenda, that COULD be something interesting IF the show made us care about the    It’s trying to be edgy...moody...but in the end it´s nothing! The script is shallow, and the characters are only mood driven puppets without good lines.
    Jesus, or in the show DARK LORD...or LORD SATAN the dialogue is a cringe fest, RLY RLY CRINGEY!
    And don´t even make me start on the pointless feminism agenda, that COULD be something interesting IF the show made us care about the characters who suffered the abuse, but again the characters are shallow so you feel nothing for them and only think that is a a bad feminist agenda with poor taste...
    Satan, just make it stop ¬¬    … Expand
  3. Nobilis1984
    Nov 14, 2018
    3
    Netflix this was nothing.
    I like the riper and sombre style of the series, but the main characters are weak.
    There I liked the old series with Mellisa Joan Heart substantially better.
    Netflix can pulp the series with pleasure again.
  4. derkreator
    Oct 29, 2018
    3
    First 30 seconds of original show have more character development and creative thought than this whole 'dark edgy reboot'.
  5. capt_morgan
    Dec 1, 2018
    3
    Two minutes into the show and you are bombarded with feminist liberal social justice warrior propaganda. Another 5 minutes into the show you are exposed to LGBTQIA witch and warlock style.
    Its agenda and style over substance.
  6. TalulaGrey
    Nov 10, 2018
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This could have been better. The acting was good and the production values were outstanding except for that blurring thing they did around the edges, wtf was that all about? The story-line was pretty lame and it still has no idea where it's going. Another thing that bothered me was that most of the characters seemed cliche. It didn't make any sense that in the beginning of the series, satan could see and hear everything but then later on, he was not as involved as he had been.

    A few things that ticked me right off; Susie the bullied friend that dresses like a boy. I'm fine with her dressing like a boy and it's fine that her aunt from back in the day used to dress like a boy but if it's not part of the story then for crying out loud, drop it. Roz, the outspoken friend who is going blind. For god's sake, why the tears about books that have been banned? Don't be a tool. Buy them and read them at home. Ambrose the gay cousin under house arrest, but finds a lover at a funeral, really? There was more but you get my point.

    The writing is pretty bad. The aunts, have moments of good dialogue but for the most part the writing is shallow and obtuse. For someone who supposedly has amazing critical thinking skills, Sabrina gets tricked.

    So, yeah, not impressed with any of it and will not return to watch season 2.    … Expand
  7. ArmFlailingTube
    Feb 21, 2019
    3
    Well, at first, I was quite intrigued with the story but as soon as we got to the dyke girl being bullied and how the horrible white man principal wouldn't do anything about it, I knew I was either going to be on and off with this show or just drop it entirely.

    My goodness, you'd think the writers had all gone raving mad! There are so many forced agenda plugs throughout just the first    Well, at first, I was quite intrigued with the story but as soon as we got to the dyke girl being bullied and how the horrible white man principal wouldn't do anything about it, I knew I was either going to be on and off with this show or just drop it entirely.

    My goodness, you'd think the writers had all gone raving mad! There are so many forced agenda plugs throughout just the first few episodes. I'd like to confirm that there are more but I stopped watching halfway into the third episode once the two gay dudes started snogging each others faces off. I mean come on. Do we really need all of this? It's all your typical left wing stuff too. Oh no! Women are oppressed. The patriarchy! The patriarchy! FASCISM!!! White men are evil! Intersectionality! There's even a scene where four secondary school blokes are tricked into making out with each other by four racially diverse girls so, yeah. The "let's put men in their place" plug has made an appearance and then there's a bit after that where three of said girls say to the fourth that they stole the "boyhood" of the boys and they can't have erections until the fourth girl says so. It's just sickening to watch.

    This makes me sad because I did like the show a bit when the agenda hadn't fully come out but, there is just more left wing propaganda than actual story here. I can't pay attention to the story if more than half of the show is radical politics.

    TL;DR: Imagine a video game where, before every story mission, you had to participate in 10 political protests, each with their own issue, before you could go on to the next story mission. That is this show.    … Expand
  8. EcchiMary
    Apr 27, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Awful show for many reasons. I'm gonna get the obvious out of the way first.

    The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina isn't a show with an agenda, it's an agenda that was crafted into a show that just happened to be a retelling of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It's insufferably up its own a** with (dare I say) wokeness that you can practically hear the people behind the show patting themselves on the back in each episode. The first episode alone drives that home. After Sabrina's androgynous lesbian friend Susie is harassed by some football players (they lifted her shirt to 'see if she was a boy or a girl'), Sabrina and friends decide to form a club to provide mutual protection and 'fight the White patriarchy'. You can already see what has happened. The football players clearly did it just because they're evil men, and it's basically in their blood as men to harass LGBT people. Sabrina and friends take their request for a club to the principal. The principal rejects it, because as he is also a White male and that's just what they do. Sabrina's friend Roz adds that sometime before all this she requested to form a club called "Daughters of the Black Panthers", which she implies he rejected because he's a racist... as apparently all White men are. This feminist black and white eay of thinking sets the tone for the entire show. Father Blackwood, the respected (by all except Sabrina) head of the Spellman's coven? Evil White male who Sabrina must fight. Even Satan himself is reduced to just being a metaphor for all men and the "patriarchy"... who of course Sabrina is trying to destroy. This is about 95% of what the show is about.

    Now for my main issues. The acting is downright terrible. Kiernan Shipka's in particular is so wooden that it gives Kristen Stewart a run for her money. There is no real character development and most characters seem to be there for the sake of being there. Witchcraft is presented as just a faux-type of theistic Satanism. Even historically. The pre-Christian cultures of the Celts, Germanics, Greeks, etc. whose native practices were what the Christian church deemed to be witchcraft and Devil worship were reduced to being just that... Devil worship, and the so-called ancestors of modern witches.

    And by biggest issue... ALMOST EVERY CHARACTER IS COMPLETELY UNLIKEABLE. Sabrina, even with her 'wokeness' aside, is just a terrible person. She's not so much a rebel, as much an arrogant person who thinks they're super smart and just knows more than everybody else. She is selfish, stubborn, and really untrustworthy unless she feels like it. Someone tell her not to do something because it's against the laws of Witchcraft? Too bad, she's above those. Don't do something because it's dangerous and can harm others? Nah, she's doing it anyway. Fight agaunst long held traditions that everyone else likes and follows, but *she* has an issue with? Too bad everyone else, she's gonna get rid of it. She's just overall so terrible of a person that I don't care what happens to her. The only saving graces are her aunts and Ambrose, who are actually rather likeable and try their best to be the voices of reason. Aunt Zelda especially. She's a woman just trying to guide and protect the little bit of family she has left, albeit usually with tough love. All she tries to do is watch over Sabrina like she promised Sabrina's father and keep her ego in check, but instead is treated to Sabrina spitting all over their faith and routinely humiliating her with her actions, even though she usually end up bailing Sabrina out in the end when she runs afowl of the Church. Aunt Hilda, while being more of an enabler to Sabrina, is still nothing but kind and loving, and a much needed comic relief. Ambrose, her cousin in this one, is a balance of both. While he loves Sabrina and tries his best to advise and aid her when needed, he's not above telling her when her actions are stupid and reckless.

    So yeah, an awful show with far more negatives than positives. Just don't bother watching it.    … Expand
  9. divine1976
    Oct 31, 2018
    2
    The forced SJW agenda in this made it unwatchable for me. I watch these kind of shows for escapism, not have politics forced in my face
  10. BetaNoGamma
    Nov 9, 2018
    2
    Floja, aburrida con mucho potencial pero aburrida llena de feminismo y homosexualidad sin una justificación y no habla nada de lo realmente llamativo, solo mierda.
  11. Venomstryke
    Oct 27, 2018
    2
    Review based on 3 episodes. I just can't bear to give this any more time, What should be a worthy successor to the likes of Buffy and Teen Wolf has turned out to be shallow, poorly plotted, dreadfully written and badly acted drivel. The sock-puppet nice Aunt and nasty Aunt are the worst, but all of the Witch characters are monsters with no grey edges. Worst of all? It's just not any fun.
  12. Elthor
    Oct 28, 2018
    2
    There are a few really fun elements in this show. It could have been good holiday fun. Unfortunately, like all programs that involve Greg Berlanti, it is unnecessarily political. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't need more politics in my life.

    If you lean right, you'll be annoyed. I can pretty much guarantee it. The thing is, if you lean left, you'll be annoyed as well.    There are a few really fun elements in this show. It could have been good holiday fun. Unfortunately, like all programs that involve Greg Berlanti, it is unnecessarily political. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't need more politics in my life.

    If you lean right, you'll be annoyed. I can pretty much guarantee it.
    The thing is, if you lean left, you'll be annoyed as well.

    The problem is that the real women called witches were the first strong women (proto-feminists?) in North America. They were the wise women who often knew how to naturally heal people. They stood outside of traditional female roles.
    Except Chilling...Sabrina has recast these woman as being oppressed by Satan's patriarchy. They sold their freedom and the right to do what they want with their own bodies (their words) for their witch powers.
    No. Just no. If you aren't outraged by how these early female pioneers are disparaged by this show, you should be.    … Expand
  13. Micromegas80
    Nov 1, 2018
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I hate-watched the entire thing, like some kind of ghastly train wreck happening in slow motion that I couldn't take my eyes off. I expected "Riverdale" with magic, instead I got The Satanic Bible as presented by the local high school drama club. I'll mention some problems that stuck out to me:

    1. Sabrina turns 16 in the second episode, but in the first episode we see her completely naked, despite being filmed from a "tasteful" camera angle that hides all the naughty bits.

    2. I am not hyper religious, but the belief systems of Anton Lavey and Aleister Crowley are quoted a few times, other times they writers use a cheap inversion of Catholic dogma and rituals as the basis of their dialogue, actions. eg: the characters often exclaim "Praise Satan!" when something goes right for them, or the "Book of Life" becomes the "Book of the Beast," "Baptism" becomes "Dark Baptism" etc.

    3. SJW and Feminist propaganda is hammered and wedged and stuffed into every available place, and then some until the dialogue and plot practically drip with it. The girls make a club called WICCA (Women's Intersectional Cultural and Creative Association) to protect *all* women, in a not so subtle nod to transgenderism. Others have already labored this.

    4. All the characters are terrible stereotypes that lack depth and nuance. Examples include: Sabrina: Angsty girl with a big choice to make. Hilda: Good aunt vs Zelda: Bad aunt (with a heart of gold) Harvey: dumb boyfriend who understands nothing, Nick: dangerous love interest threatening core relationship, Suzy: trans person that people don't know how to handle, Mr. Kinkel: abusive dad telling his kid to get a job, destroying their dreams, Madam Satan: conniving, mysterious character with their own agenda, Weird sisters: carbon copy of the popular characters from "Mean Girls" and a character I like to refer to as "Principal Trump". There is a scene where Sabrina approaches him and informs him that "a trans person is living in constant fear at his school" to which he tells her "maybe that person should find another school!"

    5. Lack of characters, simple, predictable plot. My fourth point managed to capture most of the important characters in the show, and that's a problem. They just do not have a lot to work with here. The story is not complicated at all, which you can tell by the fact that the series is only 10 episodes long, despite more being in the works. The actual content could have been handled in 3 or 4 episodes had they dispensed with irrelevant side plots that went nowhere and contributed nothing to character development.

    All in all, I can't recommend this "CHAOS" to anyone. Watch it at your peril.    … Expand
  14. Sicario1992
    Apr 27, 2019
    2
    What started out as a promising show quickly descended into a self-righteous teenage melodrama. This version of Sabrina has been reduced to a perfect, 'woke' Mary Sue that serves as little more than a mouthpiece for the writers to spout their views from. Despite the fact that she constantly and selfishly betrays her family and the CotN in every episode due to stubbornly believing that herWhat started out as a promising show quickly descended into a self-righteous teenage melodrama. This version of Sabrina has been reduced to a perfect, 'woke' Mary Sue that serves as little more than a mouthpiece for the writers to spout their views from. Despite the fact that she constantly and selfishly betrays her family and the CotN in every episode due to stubbornly believing that her views on everything are right and all others wrong, she's presented as immaculate and perfect; especially when it comes to progressive social issues.

    This not mentioning that the entire series is a barely veiled metaphor for the women 'standing up to men and the evil patriarchy', embodied as Satan himself. Yes, men as a whole are unironically embodied as Satan, with Sabrina embodying the "girl power" that is eventually going to topple and kill him and free the poor witches being deceived by the evil men in power.

    If this is your type of show, then do watch it. If not, watch something else.    … Expand
  15. TTTTB
    Apr 30, 2019
    2
    Bad acting. Obvious agenda. Uninteresting characters. Could barely make it through the first 3 episodes, had to force myself to finish the season. Just avoid this atrocity.
  16. Nerwan
    Nov 1, 2018
    1
    I thought this was very disappointing. The biggest problem it has is that the central character Sabrina is just so charmless that it's really very difficult to get invested in what she's up to. The only characters which had slight promise to be entertaining was Michelle Gomez (I'm a big fan of hers) and perhaps Lucy Davis. The rest was just overblown, slightly nauseating teen melodramaI thought this was very disappointing. The biggest problem it has is that the central character Sabrina is just so charmless that it's really very difficult to get invested in what she's up to. The only characters which had slight promise to be entertaining was Michelle Gomez (I'm a big fan of hers) and perhaps Lucy Davis. The rest was just overblown, slightly nauseating teen melodrama with zero charm. I'm normally a fan of teen dramas, but not this one.… Expand
  17. fedo
    Nov 15, 2018
    1
    Every single part of the script is forged to support and push feminist agenda. If it was a part of an episode that would be ok, The whole show? No, thank you.
  18. Yurchik
    Nov 12, 2018
    1
    The banality of banality! Who she such a to debate with the devil (Oh Yes - an independent woman)!?
  19. wwwMASTER
    Oct 26, 2018
    1
    It has interesting creepy atmosphere in some rare parts, but rest of the show is ruined by boring blunt characters, with bad written dialogs and just AWFUL feminist agenda just oozing from everywhere. Avoid this show.
  20. Whitson77
    Oct 31, 2018
    1
    Thought the show was complete garbage. It can't decide what it is. So shallow and completely agenda pushing over any kind of quality story. Why they decided to veer so far away from the beloved original version is beyond me.
  21. Abbas_Moosavi97
    Dec 14, 2018
    1
    one of most terrible teenager series ever
    please don't waste your time on this
  22. Vincent
    Oct 27, 2018
    0
    Another witch show being marketed to young girls enticing them towards dark magicks, funded by Netflix. I guess I don't have a problem with Satanic practices being portrayed as common place by the media, but girls, aren't you tired of this crap? It's a trap, a rouse, it's supposed to entice you and make you seem edgy and cool but it's really just evil.
  23. TwiTu
    Nov 29, 2018
    0
    This show is so bad and full of neofascist propaganda, that the positive reviews feel bought.
    It is just not possible that a lot of people like this superficial, dividing, racist, man-hating piece of propaganda.
    I mean I know which kind of people like it, but they arent a lot. And if they are a lot, then we are heading into very very dark times.
  24. theirrelephants
    Dec 24, 2018
    0
    Tried to force myself to watch more and it went from a 2 to a 0. What complete anti-white leftwing crap.

    Also it's funny how most of the accounts giving it 10 have no other reviews...
  25. Stellen
    Nov 2, 2018
    0
    This is pure trash, with no redeeming features whatsoever. The acting is poor, the scripting is cringy, the characters are universally unlikable, and everything drips of politics. This is without a doubt the worst thing I've watched this year.
  26. mirta000
    Nov 17, 2018
    0
    - Sabrina now has a black gay cousin.
    - All witches are evil. And Sabrina is chased by the devil.
    - She is mainly concerned with feminism on her free time and staging a support group for her female friends at her highschool, out of which one is a dike, one is fat and one is black, her black friend wants to be a black panther, Sabrina wants to fight against whiteblack, her black friend    - Sabrina now has a black gay cousin.
    - All witches are evil. And Sabrina is chased by the devil.
    - She is mainly concerned with feminism on her free time and staging a support group for her female friends at her highschool, out of which one is a dike, one is fat and one is black, her black friend wants to be a black panther, Sabrina wants to fight against whiteblack, her black friend wants to be a black panther, Sabrina wants to fight against white patriarchy.

    My childhood feels slaughtered.    … Expand
  27. aniketaki
    Nov 19, 2018
    0
    0.000001 / 10 Stars. Don't do more TV shows like this, Netflix. Worst of worst. I dont know how some people can even give this tv show any stars.
  28. Myrkur
    Nov 4, 2018
    0
    As someone who enjoys watching bad shows for ironic enjoyment it was a real surprise for me how much of a terrible show this is. It's simply completely garbage I nearly couldn't finish it, which is something really impressive, I've seen terrible things before, really bad things, but this takes the cake.

    The plot is shallow, the characters are unlikable and everything seems out of place.    As someone who enjoys watching bad shows for ironic enjoyment it was a real surprise for me how much of a terrible show this is. It's simply completely garbage I nearly couldn't finish it, which is something really impressive, I've seen terrible things before, really bad things, but this takes the cake.

    The plot is shallow, the characters are unlikable and everything seems out of place.
    It just doesn't work, the goddam misplaced gore scenes, how could they **** up gore? Jesus Christ, this should be hold as how NOT to do television. Stay away from this.    … Expand
  29. Subsided16
    Oct 27, 2018
    0
    Its so filled with rampant sexism i cant watch this spew anymore. Like how dare a man defend himself when a woman attacks him...he needs to be punished...ya some real.nice message there. Or when she asks another witch why cant the DL give us freedom and power...of couse we need a sexist response of "he is a man isnt he". And of course the male principal needs to not care about woman to theIts so filled with rampant sexism i cant watch this spew anymore. Like how dare a man defend himself when a woman attacks him...he needs to be punished...ya some real.nice message there. Or when she asks another witch why cant the DL give us freedom and power...of couse we need a sexist response of "he is a man isnt he". And of course the male principal needs to not care about woman to the point he needs to be out of the picture to create a club. Its unbearable plain and simple, a dark showing into the sexist world modern feminism has created. Shameful… Expand
  30. Whatevenisthis
    Apr 9, 2019
    0
    Turned it off within 10 minutes lmao. Get off my screen with this trash lol first they ruin star trek, then they ruin the punisher, now sabrina? Why tho.
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Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best TV Season of 2018
5
#5 Most Discussed TV Season of 2018
6
#6 Most Shared TV Season of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    Oct 31, 2018
    80
    Sabrina is also possessed by the spirit of Kevin Williamson’s script for Wes Craven’s “Scream”: there’s a giddy cleverness in how it shouts out its own tropes and knowing riffs, in the service of minting a Faustian coming-of-age tale in which the retro atmosphere mingles with progressive gender politics.
    Read full review
  2. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Sophie Gilbert
    Oct 29, 2018
    80
    Chilling Adventures ends up being a surprisingly complex interrogation of power, aware both of the necessity of women claiming it and of the consequences that usually follow when that power is used for revenge.
    Read full review
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Margaret Lyons
    Oct 26, 2018
    60
    The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is frequently chilling, but it’s rarely much of an adventure.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »