More info and characters announced for “Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch”

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Updated on June 14, 2022

sabrina_secrets_witch2On the heels of learning a few of the voices for the upcoming “Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch” cartoon comes more information on the series from Comics Alliance. Two more characters are confirmed: Shinji, Sabrina’s beau from the manga run of the comic in the 2000s; and Enchantra, the temperamental Head Witch from the 90s/2000s comics.

The Comics Alliance article also has a few more pictures from the upcoming series, including what Shinji and Enchantra look like. From this and other information in the article, the show sounds like it’s a mix of various comics and previous TV series.

Update (9/24/13): The Hub website now has posted brief bios on some of the show’s supporting cast, as well as a promo clip.

Shinji

Shinji was introduced in the 2000s comics as a warlock and fellow “charm school” student of Sabrina’s. Shinji got a lot more development and backstory during the series’ manga run. While I’ve only gotten halfway through the series so far (just bought volume three), the “Secrets of a Teenage Witch” series is presenting Shinji as Enchantra’s son, as well as black-haired (with purple highlights?). I agree with Comics Alliance that Shinji does look a bit like Dracula here, versus his original comic appearance.

Per The Hub’s website, there’s now one big change from the original comics: Sabrina and Shinji are rivals who can’t stand each other. Wonder why they didn’t just create a new character…

Enchantra

The Sabrina comics went through a few “Head Witches” over the years. Della was the predominant one, likely originating (like Aunt Zelda) from, or alongside the debut of, the Filmation Sabrina cartoons. Della stuck around in the comics up through the 90s or so, when Enchantra suddenly became the new(?) Head Witch. Oddly, Enchantra’s assistant/lacky was a woman named Della; however, this Della was rather mild-mannered (Enchantra and the original Della were both ill-tempered and domineering). Enchantra stuck around until the manga version of the series came along, when she was replaced by the various members of the Witches/Magic Council (and a different Queen). However, if and when there’s a new Sabrina comic, I’m sure Enchantra will be back.

Salem

Salem looks a bit harrier than in the other publicity shot I saw.

Of bigger interest is the revelation that in this series, Salem was turned into a cat by Enchantra. This was the case in a few comics/a TV movie produced early in the sitcom’s era, before they decided to revert to the sitcom’s standard origin. However, here Salem’s also a spy sent by Enchantra to meddle with Sabrina’s life in exchange for becoming human again someday, which is an even bigger change.

Harvey

My initial guess was right: the boy with the glasses is a revised Harvey. In this series, he’s now particularly interested in geeky endeavors (cosplaying, etc.). Fairly different from most versions of Harvey (whose interests are mostly athletics), though the 2000s animated series showed Harvey obsessed with video games, comic books, etc.

Jessie

The Black female character has a name, and it’s Jessie. Her bio states she’s basically a teenage analogue of Chloe (from “Sabrina, the Animated Series”): Sabrina’s best mortal friend, who’s aware that the Spellmans are witches.

The Aunts

The promo clip showed a brief shot of Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. Aunt Hilda looks somewhat like a middle-aged version of Sabrina. Aunt Zelda, however, seems to have reverted to her classic pre-sitcom comic (and Filmation animated series) look: a heavy-set short woman with glasses. Both aunts have blonde-colored hair; in the comics, Hilda’s hair is traditionally red, while Zelda’s is green.

Sabrina’s hometown

From the school’s “G”-shaped shrubbery, Sabrina’s hometown is presumably still named “Greendale,” a name it was first labeled in “Sabrina, the Animated Series,” which the comics soon took (apparently permanently) as the name of Sabrina’s town. The comics before that went with various names: Riverdale (home of Archie), some random unnamed town, Gravestone Heights (a brief mid-90s series), and Westbridge (as seen in the live-action sitcom).

Anthony Dean

Anthony Dean is the owner of Diverse Tech Geek and Diverse Media Notes.

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