Sabrina the Teenage Witch getting 'gritty' reboot

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is coming back! Photo / Supplied

Sabrina The Teenage Witch, based on the Archie Comics series of the same name, looks set to return to TV screens next year with a much darker and more grown up tone than viewers are used to.

The CW and Warner Bros are reportedly developing an hour-long weekly drama as a companion series for teen drama Riverdale, which also hails from the Archie universe, the Daily Mail reports.

According to Variety, the rebooted Sabrina The Teenage Witch show will be based on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic, while taking inspiration from horror classics such as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist.

The coming-of-age programme will see Sabrina "wrestling to reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family, and the daylight world humans inhabit".

The show is being developed as a spin-off for Riverdale, which debuted on the CW last year and follows Archie Andrews and his friends, who become embroiled in a murder mystery in their small town.

Sabrina played a major role in the comic series Afterlife With Archie and was then granted her own comic. It has been hinted on Riverdale that something "magical" is on its way and it's been widely rumoured there will be a crossover between the two shows.

Speculation has been rife online that actress Dove Cameron could be set to take on the role, and the blonde has kept fans guessing with cryptic Instagram posts.

The chilling new version of Sabrina The Teenage Witch is reportedly being scheduled for the 2018/19 season.

Archie Comics CCO and EP on the show, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa recently teased that Sabrina would be making an appearance in Riverdale.

"Some people don't even know that Sabrina is in the Archie family," Roberto told EW. "There is absolutely a universe where Sabrina pops up in Riverdale or one town over in Greendale.

"Certainly, the priority is launching Riverdale and making sure that show is as good as it can be and as embraced as we want it to be... I'll just tease that Sabrina has potential with a capital P."

Sabrina was made popular by actress Melissa Joan Hart in the original TV series which originally followed her home life with aunts Zelda and Hilda Spellman and her disastrous forays into magic, which she struggled to keep secret from her boyfriend Harvey Kinkle, mean girl Libby and hapless high school Principle, Mr. Kraft.

The show, which aired for seven series, went on to focus on Sabrina's college days before concluding in 2003.

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