As someone who grew up watching the original "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," I tried not to be too excited over the new series. It's always hard when there is a remake of something that people grew up watching because change doesn't always come as easy as you would hope for.
My first reaction when watching the first episode was that I recognized a few of the actors and actresses, and it all stood pretty close to what I remembered. While coming into this series with a few questions, I slowly started to enjoy it. There are obvious differences of course. Like the darkness that the Netflix series has. It deals with the devil and a lot of death.
With the dark aspects, it feels more realistic to me. I don't remember too much of the original series, but I definitely know that at the time it was made, they never would have been allowed to include some of the things that have happened throughout the first season.
When you watch the original Sabrina, it has a lot of humor and lighthearted interactions. It's really just based on how she deals with going to High school and figuring out she's a witch, while the Netflix series focuses on her having to choose between dark and good. She has the choice between signing a contract with the Devil and gaining more power or choosing to keep her freedom.
The series on Netflix is definitely darker than the original, and I don't know how I would feel watching this at the age I did when I was a kid. I definitely wouldn't have understood some of the things that happened in the show, especially because it's more geared towards young adults.
Now, when it comes to the original series at the time it was made, there was no cussing or blood. There weren't dark themes or death. It was a show for kids who enjoyed the idea of magic, and everything was very lighthearted. It also mainly just focused on Sabrina, while the newer series focuses on the entire witch and human community as a whole. We follow the lives of the other witches and we actually end up sympathizing with the bad guys because we don't just see them when they attack.
For me personally, when it comes to comparing the shows, I try not to. The entire time you won't be focused on the series, but more on which one is better than the other. They're so far apart in the time they were made that it's almost impossible to compare the content and acting.
If you are trying to decide whether to watch the Netflix series, go into it with an open mind and try not to compare to a show you grew up on. It has great acting, great drama, etc. With all of the great reviews, you will likely not be disappointed.
