Witchy Women: A Sabrina the Teenage Witch Retrospective

Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a staple of the late 90's, and the last major hit from the TGIF programming block. This look back at the series examines its origins and messages throughout its entire seven year run. From its early days on ABC to its final episodes on the WB.
This show resonating with me a lot when I was younger. Maybe it was just my crush on Melissa Joan Hart, but I think it also offered some unique laughs and fun magical quirks. Definitely a show of its era.
0:00 - Intro
04:49 - The Sabrina the Teenage Witch Movie
06:40 - Becoming a Sitcom
13:52 - Season 1
32:42 - Merch!
34:28 - Seasons 2 and 3
49:21 - More TV Movies
54:02 - Season 4
1:03:28 - Network Switch
1:05:59 - Seasons 5 and 6
1:19:53 - Spin-Off Attempts
1:21:53 - Season 7
1:36:08 - Legacy
Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic articles:
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Thumbnail concept by fluttr.me

[@kit7kat6]

as a kid i really couldn't handle how jealous I was of Sabrina for getting to be a witch 😂

[@natzhutson153]

Same! I used to live vicariously thru her. However I'd be super grateful for my simple life when I saw all the crazy stuff she went thru 😅

[@greynotchristian]

anytime i rewatch the show im upset that she didn't want to be one. like you could learn how to teleport and want to do school paper instead? couldn't be me!

[@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195]

Same, I remember looking at the moon every night, hoping some magic will be discovered in me and I will be able to escape edit: also seeing that there can be supportive parents, at least on TV, especially Zelda since I was a nerd, helped a lot

[@zenithquasar9623]

We all did I think.

[@jennaelizabeth8956]

I’m still waiting for someone to come tell me that I’m really a witch! I’m sure they’ll be along any day now!

[@yvette1631]

Sabrina and Harvey were a surprisingly good couple, most teen show couples make me cringe but their chemistry was adorable!

[@TheMysteryDriver]

Loveable doofuses are always adorable on tv shows

[@lucybarnes8969]

My first OTP!

[@MiBrCo4177]

Their chemistry seemed natural that's why it worked so good.

[@Fuchsfeuer]

I hated that they broke up even more. The series died for me at that point.

[@yuyuyashasrain]

Did you see the last episode? They admitted their mistake, but sabrina also rode a motorcycle in a wedding dress... idk, I’m sure it’s fine but it seemed wildly unsafe to me

[@AD-ov5rt]

The spin-off that the world wanted was Harvey and Salem getting up to trouble, let's be real.

[@kennethwoody5897]

It's the spinoff of Tequila and Bonetti that we needed, and sadly never received.

[@lars7282]

Salem had his own book line 😅

[@EvanEluf]

I really want to see to that! 😂😂😂

[@rebelwave2549]

only if they created a mechanism for Salem to be given powers, maybe the Witches Council allow him to have some powers back as the next step towards being turned back into a witch? Or have Salem earn it for an "act of bravery" that was actually a hilarious coincidence from a scenario where Salem is actually trying to save his own bacon or undo a previous disaster he set up? You know what I love this idea its got my creativity flowing! 🤷‍♀

[@brianamiller1984]

​@@kennethwoody5897😊❤😊❤😊❤❤😊❤😊😊❤❤❤❤

[@parvanaturalia]

I have never forgotten the line "at 16, it's always true love". It's one of my favourite lines of all time. As a nascent teenager, this show was my religion. Amazing retrospective!

[@gummycats]

i'm sure teenagers get tired of hearing from adults about how their love for eachother is silly and meaningless all the time! it's really a sweet thing for them to have added in :)

[@rhythmandblues_alibi]

It's such a great line, and so true ❤

[@neivilde.1242]

me too, that line has stayed with me forever, it's so nice for a show to not talk down to kids, and validate their feelings

[@jennaelizabeth8956]

Me too! I’ve always loved that line!

[@rhyuh]

I can asureeee you, it's not ways love at 16😭😭

[@Amitlu]

Came for the witches Stayed for Salem

[@Stephen-Fox]

Salem was an absolute bicon.

[@VinnieMack]

Yessss!!!

[@ddjsoyenby]

he was the best.

[@thirdcoinedge]

Same. First I heard of this show was clips of Salem.

[@zoa1-99.......]

Ahh, the breakout character!

[@thatyoutubechannel9953]

"She's the sweetest, most beautiful cat I've ever held" I just melted faster than the wicked witch of the west that's the cutest line ever

[@boffyb]

“One of the black cats to appear was the last surviving Salem” I’m not crying, you’re crying!

[@Fingerscrossedout]

Exactly 😢

[@Nebocsid]

"I'm not crying, my eyeballs are sweating!" Buford, from Phineas and Ferb. Because of the Caroline Rhea connection.

[@chelmrtz]

Salem driving vehicles should be an entire show on its own 🐈‍⬛ 🚗

[@stephjovi]

My black cats would definitely approve this idea

[@dwc1964]

Toonces has entered the chat

[@melkhiordarkfell4354]

There was always that moment of joy when Salem was played by a real cat.

[@niiii_niiii]

Yes!

[@tecpaocelotl]

One thing i wished you mentioned was when Salem ate a time ball and made each show on TGIF a different time period.

[@iamfuturetrunks]

Yeah I remember that where there was a bit of crossover episodes back then. Really enjoyed the shows even more when they did that. You dont really get that anymore these days which is a shame. I remember Salem and Sabrina showing up in a boy meets world episode or two.

[@cheneethompson5756]

​​​​@@iamfuturetrunkssabrina had a guest appearance in boy meets world She was dating Eric And, in that same episode, candace Cameron-Bure(DJ from full house) was a witch that dated Jack

[@melissagerber7231]

​@@iamfuturetrunks"How did you know we were genies?" " When I said I was a witch, yoh didn't go, " Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

[@bboops23]

What's amazing about Harvey and Sabrina as a couple was that they started as friends and they grew. When they spent time apart broken up, they were able to grow enough as people and when they got back together it was earned snd it felt less like high school sweethearts and more like two soulmates who happened to meet in high school

[@NotoriousLightning]

This is untrue. Stop the violence and Jimmy down boy.

[@bboops23]

@@NotoriousLightning what about what I said is untrue

[@NotoriousLightning]

@@bboops23 Where you said they met again later on, because that didn't happen like the way you said.

[@bboops23]

@@NotoriousLightning did you even watch the show? They literally reconnected after college

[@NotoriousLightning]

@@bboops23 I watched the first four seasons, and intended to watch the rest, but then my good friend Paul said nothing good could come of it because the series took a nosedive in quality. He explained what happened next, and never did he mention such a thing happening.

[@omegahaxors3306]

Seeing Salem's live-action interpretation immediately brought his iconic "uh-hu-hu-hu-hu..." cry to mind

[@jefforta4989]

Salem: I miss my Sabrini. Zelda: Your Sabrini?

[@n00dle05]

When I was in the 7th grade I rented the movie Sabrina from the library because I thought it was about Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Anyway, that’s how I discovered Audrey Hepburn.

[@MarshaLove0723]

Great movie.

[@LauraEDavis]

love that movie!

[@Siures]

Same.

[@bboops23]

Same though. Interesting Fun fact though: Sabrina the Teenage Witch is believed to be named after the character of Sabrina from the Audrey Hepburn movie.

[@brianbelgard5988]

Haha, I had a similar experience but my mom had rented it.

[@isaacrichter3269]

Regarding continuity, it's funny you didn't mention that Sabrina went through her Junior Year twice. She turns 17 at the beginning of the second season and she turns 18 at the beginning of the fourth season. You can say the second and third seasons represent one year, but if you watch both seasons, you'll notice they both have a Halloween episode and a Christmas episode, so basically everyone in this world repeated that year.

[@LauraEDavis]

I think before streaming, these things would just happen and go unnoticed because you were never supposed to watch them one after the other. kids were the main audience and they weren't going to really understand anyway.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

Mash had like 5 or so Christmas episodes in a war that lasted 3 years.

[@stephjovi]

Well they were up to so much magic they were too busy to ever really study 😂

[@elormentary]

There was a talking cat...

[@LittleMissLounge]

@@TheMysteryDriver Okay, this made me laugh.

[@monopoman]

Beth Broderick is actually a family friend of mine for a long time, kinda crazy seeing an expose on this show that was such a large part of her acting career. I agree she did a very good job and was the proper adult in the Spellman household.

[@natzhutson153]

Thank you. And give my thanks to her. The work brought great joy and amusement to many.

[@JoseBird]

Tell Beth that I thought she was wonderful as Aunt Zelda!

[@marocat4749]

I like even more that she is immature too, and a flawed killjoy . Which makes her just better as character. While being the responsible adult.

[@monopoman]

I surely will let her know Jose, it's kinda funny in person she is pretty similar to the character she played on this show.

[@csurname]

Her voice is awesome

[@malirabbit6228]

I never watched Sabrina until my husband discovered it in syndication. But the reason he ( we ) started to watch it was because of SALEM SABERHAGEN! The cat! PS, we are both in our 60’s ! Live long and prosper, y’all!

[@exomake_mehorololo]

Yes 😂Salem is the true star

[@trinaq]

This show was my entire childhood, so I'm going to drop everything and watch an almost two hour long retrospective review about it. I like to think that when Clarissa had finished explaining it all, she decided to become a teenage witch!

[@bulbafett5001]

It's a shame the Netflix series was pretty much crap compared to the OG show. It got tiring to have the plot be "Magic says this is impossible do without paying X part" Sabrina goes "Hahhaa fuck that noise" and does what she wants after we spent half the episode going over the consequences of what she wants to do and she just skips on through.

[@stephjovi]

​@@bulbafett5001couldn't stand it either. But it's from a different Sabrina comic and it's a product of its time it's for current teens not 90s teens

[@bulbafett5001]

@@stephjovi It's more the advent of Main Character does no wrong, no matter how many times she violates t he natural order of Magic, Life and Death and basic decency like turning your crushes older brother into a Zombie and leaving him to kill it. Or getting your other crush to sacrifice themselves to the eternal torment of Hell cause you made bad decisions. And kept making the same ones. It's like Sam in Supernatural. 0 Growth aside from physical height.

[@bulbafett5001]

Like, Dark and serious exploration into the themes and messages of Sabrina updated to a modern era? Yes sign me the hell up. Theo is a boss and they fucking Rock in the Chucky TV show. Which if you aren't watching do so. Don Mancini still running the show.

[@Zireael83]

same :D

[@HeisenbergFam]

32:33 cat casually driving the car perfectly represents the vibe of this show

[@emilyhannon9546]

Toonces the Driving Cat

[@zackamania6534]

@@emilyhannon9546not such a great driver

[@6thwilbury2331]

TOONCES LOOK OUT!

[@theforgetfulalchemist]

As a child, I was absolutely convinced our family black cat could talk like Salem

[@AndromedaD]

Mine loves watching Salem and Binx. She'll pick it up eventually

[@theforgetfulalchemist]

@@AndromedaD Aw! Our girl was named Lucky because we didn't like the idea of thinking black cats are bad luck

[@GHMYahooka]

he can he just doesn't think you can understand him

[@PhoenixRising87]

I always wanted a black cat, because who doesn't love the idea of a mini panther in their house (my cat is a tuxedo cat, so he's close enough)?

[@LittleMissLounge]

@@theforgetfulalchemist My black cat's middle name is Felicitas (Roman goddess of good fortune) for that reason.

[@CaptainSam666]

One of my favorite shows of all time. Is it just me or was the "mean girl" Libby one of the best actresses on the show? She ate every scene. I'm sad she was only in the early seasons. Edit: Harvey and Sabrina is 1 of maybe 3 straight romances I've ever been invested in.

[@marocat4749]

The actress is amazing, especially thst she is even in so short. And naturally balances that being a hatable person, a humanized person and being entertaining and funny. And surprisingly well done she is awful, but also a mirror for sabrina and still an awful teenager, not a monster. I think she tom feltoned libby 😂 I mean hilda and zelda are personally the best but that are experienced actors and got more to play. Libby is really tom feltoned

[@marocat4749]

Ok its sad she cant be in later seasons having clearly grown out of most of that

[@Aelffwynn]

She did an amazing job and I think went on (or back to) Broadway after Sabrina! I would love to see her in TV/movies again though. So talented.

[@Riviwriter]

She can also sing! The actress, Jenna Leigh Green, originated the role of Ivy in Bare: a rock opera. The whole thing is on KZbin, I’ll see if I can find a link! She was also in wicked

[@TheMysteryDriver]

She was in that Blair Witch spoof movie where they go to Blair Underwoods house.

[@Kazami662]

"Or when you took me in and raised me like I was your own daughter" Damn I don't know why but I felt that one.

[@musicmage4114]

Another (most likely unintended) takeaway from The Crucible episode: people in positions of power can and do use that power to enforce their preferred ideology, and can create divisions in the lower classes where none previously existed just by utilizing the right messaging. Also, why did I never notice Harvey's piercings when I watched this years ago?

[@mimmikibilly]

I'm honestly glad the show never really was centered on sex. I never liked the inclusion of it in every show that was made, so it was honestly a breath of fresh air to be able to enjoy a show without having sexual things shoved in my face.

[@Glassoink]

I felt every episode had a learning experience. Great family show

[@ridensroom6957]

It felt so out of place when in s7, Sabrina starts an article about sex and is talking about a random woman's looks. It did not feel right at all.

[@CynDiaz]

I heard that becuase every other show was centered and focused on matured topics, Melissa was not very happy being the star of a "kids' show", which was what made them put the coffee shop to resemble friends, and broke Sabrina and Harvey up to give room for flings like all the other shows were doing....

[@cheneethompson5756]

​@@ridensroom6957sabrina was an adult, so it didn't seem awkward at all!

[@NotoriousLightning]

Puritanical fool.

[@supermedafighter]

Fun fact, the guy that played Sabrina's dad in the first season was the voice of the beast from disney's beauty and the beast which is why they had that gag of him doing a booming voice during that one episode. I loved the show as a kid and still hold nostalgia for it now (I even watched Melissa & Joey due to MJH being one of the main stars of it).

[@RPGLover87]

Something i loved was the distinction between true loves and soul mates. Sabrina may have only been soulmates with Harvey, but she would have had just as strong a future with any of her true loves. Harvey may have been the only perfect option but the others still genuinely loved her, and her them

[@WallebyDamned]

Fun fact! The family secret was done in a way to try to engage audiences/sell more shit. There were different ways to collect clue words to try to guess it. I had the Sabrina the Teenage Witch CD that included a clue as a secret track.

[@TheBlarggle]

The Sabrina the Teenage Witch equivalent to "Buy More Ovaltine."

[@gigitastic90]

Oh my god I had that cd and was OBSESSED with it as a kid and had no idea!!! I just wanted everything Sabrina.

[@Aster_Risk]

That's an interesting little tidbit I never knew about!

[@beckiehubley5798]

I was 22 when it came out. I considered myself way too old for TGIF, but couldn't resist the talking cat. So I watched it every Friday.

[@daviebananas1735]

I’m surprised that Sabrina went south at the end of season 3. I didn’t realise that it changed so quick. Shows how good memory is. I’d have guessed 5 seasons before they all left.

[@zym6687]

Well there were 75 episodes in that time, since about 2003 "seasons" have been getting shorter and shorter as "television" show streaming outlets migrated away from the Neilsen-centric format of 22+ episodes a season. Game of Thrones while not a great comparison to Sabrina only has 73 episodes in 8 seasons. An average show with 75 episodes today could be anywhere from its 4th season or as high as its 11th season. It's Always Sunny in Philaelphia currently has 170 total episodes compared to Sabrina's 163, but Sabrina did that in 7 seasons while Sunny is already on its 16th.

[@daviebananas1735]

@@zym6687 Yeah, it just seemed to me that Sabrina was the high school part of the show was like 7 seasons. It’s just how bad our memories are.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

@@daviebananas1735or you all knew it lasted a long time but didn't follow it to WB or caught it on out of order syndication. My sister and mom loved it so I vividly remember the intro change with her terrible dancing lasting longer than Harvey which I always thought was wack.

[@jefforta4989]

​@@daviebananas1735 I think it was four seasons of her in highschool even though the first episode was Sabrina's 16th birthday.

[@AudioGAWD]

​@TheMysteryDriver I was one of the few people in my circle who followed this. My logic was...I followed Boy Meets World through college, why not this. It felt so different.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

Yeesh, Harvey was just so pretty in the early seasons. Like, insane cute, the face, the smile, the hair aaahhhh And you know what? Miles was super cute too actually! Very underrated! haha

[@Jinka7]

He still looks great when he's happy. IMDb did him dirty.

[@jefforta4989]

I found a video of Nate Richard during hurricane Harvey. Lately I've been losing hair

[@alisaurus4224]

@@Jinka7i wonder who chooses the headshots for Imdb-actors, their agents, the site? Some choices are bizarre

[@henriquemonteiro7245]

I had a crush on him in my early teens

[@lunarvisions7]

It’s so interesting to think of this show alongside Buffy and how they can fall into some of the same trappings despite how different in tone and ethos they seem. Also these retrospectives are one of the few yt videos that I will drop whatever I’m doing to watch!

[@gigitastic90]

I agree! I was just thinking how Buffy was able to maintain the same sense of self the show had even while allowing the characters to transition into adulthood and grow. Even though it was more horror than comedy I still feel like Sabrina could have possibly had a similar chance as a show. Both shows are very similar too in their own way with Buffy og being a story about the struggles of life in high school and growing up especially as a young woman .

[@DaraGaming42]

But there was no misandry in buffy and Sabrina , as left wing as both show where they weren’t mean twords the demographic that they secretly hated

[@tinnagigja3723]

I'd forgotten how awesome the clothes in this were. Raquel Welch's blue outfit is amazing.

[@jkjerbdhetheth]

Salem was such a brilliant addition to the series. I always had a minor obsession with wanting additional lore for the cat

[@MsJubjubbird]

one of the very few good things about the last season was his war with Arron

[@wallacejames221]

The whole "creating a sympathetic witch instead of a malevolent one" bit you had in the Season 1 section finally made me understand why I don't like the remake and just like this one. Thanks for that!

[@8opus244]

I think the remake had an interesting take and aesthetic and I appreciated the early parts of it. But it kind of devolved into stupid, hot teens doing stupid, hot things. I kind of stopped watching and just didn’t pick it back up. The writing around the central conflict with the mysterious figure who seem to be Satan and the source of witches powers also became very confusing if not downright bad. Again, I never finished, but I think it was rather unfortunate that there was potential there for a fresh reboot (which I appreciate instead of what, say, Disney does with its reboots in just rehashing the same things) but nothing substantial came of it.

[@Taniere]

Yes, I hate the remake. I loved this version because it's hilarious, wholesome, and quite interesting without taking itself serious 😆.

[@thelinedrive]

I like the remake, it’s ideas and a lot of the performances. However, it takes itself too seriously for its own good to be memorable. It’s ironic that a show in which there is magic seemingly takes the whimsy and imagination the inherently comes with it.

[@ellice9978]

the new show isn’t a remake, it’s based off of another set of comics created by the same people

[@nitac7174]

I think Sabrina’s witch double life and asking for acceptance and going against a society not built for you can represent more than just the experience of womanhood. While that is likely what was baked in growing up it also, to me, appealed to both my queerness and neurodivergence and has always helped me deal with some of those feelings - no matter if it was ages 7, 17, or 27.

[@echowoods7977]

the allegory for queerness is exactly what i thought of when her grandma said "as long as you're happy!"

[@nitac7174]

@@echowoods7977 that scene, the one in the witch trials, and I think there's another where she's trying to explain that her and Dashell connect on something that Harvey doesn't understand... it always gets me. There's also a very interesting episode where Sabrina changes into a boy in order to find out what the guys do when they hang out alone. It's a very intriguing look at gender but also I love that a) when Harvey realises that this new guy doesn't fit their mould he both stands up for him and looks out for him and b) none of the girls are made fun of in the narrative for having crushes on this new boy. It's just where most shows in this period would have zigged they zagged and it makes it much more watchable and fun decades later.

[@dopaminedrought395]

This is exactly what i was thinking like "it's an autism allegory!!!!!" about season 1 at least. and yes, queerness too when the grandma said "as long as you're happy" You can even interpret it as ace representation.

[@fluffedsquirrel]

🥴

[@jacksonteller3973]

yeah it's kind of like X-Men in that regard.

[@chris_troiano]

In 12th grade psychology we were learning about universal standards of beauty, that people are attracted to “symmetrical faces.” My odd, disturbed teacher used MJH as an example. She’s someone with a non-symmetrical face, he noted, and was therefore unattractive. I had no idea until now, 25 years later, the symmetry of her face was a plot point of the show.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

He wasn't wrong. It's a pretty typical thing. When I was a kid the main person they used to show was Denzel Washington. Dude was super symmetrical

[@chris_troiano]

@@TheMysteryDriveryeah, there’s truth to it. But the thing is: For girls of my generation, MJH was a role model, playing the idealized “cool girl” Clarissa we watched as tweens. Now she’s got a popular prime time show and is in our magazines. And an adult teacher is telling us “look at how ugly she is with her asymmetrical eyes” about a young woman who was really quite pretty.

[@roringusanda2837]

@@TheMysteryDriver but denzel washington is ugly...and melissa is pretty...the Symmetry theory doesn't seem valid to me.

[@Algimantaz]

@@chris_troianoyeah she was v pretty; it really just proves the point that too much symmetry is unnatural and actually can take away from someone’s beauty and make them look ‘freaky’ or robotic.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

@@roringusanda2837 uhh, lots of women think he's attractive, or at least was when he was younger.

[@anbu1325]

I remember being taken aback by the choice of her last love interest. To me he looked so much older, than Sabrina's character was supposed to be at that time. I was so confused why the ~21 year old is marrying the ∼37 year old. Especially after all the other love interests matched her age far better throughout the series. Am I the only one?

[@sarahr2925]

I blame that poor choice bc they changed writers after the 3rd season. The vibe was off with Aaron for sure. Him and the musician boyfriend, Kevin, always gave me the ick. Not bc they were weird but a weird coupling with Sabrina.

[@SolPaulino05]

I'm 37 and I don't look that old.

[@Taniere]

​@@SolPaulino05you don't look 21 either.

[@dylanrodrigues]

@@Taniere💀💀

[@ARareAndDifferentTune_13]

@@Tanieregirl 😂😂

[@ForeignManinaForeignLand]

All I recall is the most generic theme song ever written being blasted at a far louder relative volume due to how compressed it was; LIFE'S CHANGING AROUND ME AND I'M GONNA MAKE IT MINEEEEER

[@Coffeeisnecessarynowpepper]

I love that song

[@jacksonteller3973]

I like that song.

[@TheActualCathal]

There were two references to sex I recall in Sabrina, one direct and one oblique. There's an episode when she's working for George Wendt's paper where she's scrambling for article ideas and she randomly suggests "sex" as a topic; Myles responds "like an article about how I'm not having any?". Another, much more clever episode was about Sabrina on a beach holiday with friends where Hilda and Zelda realise (implied) that they think Sabrina's going to go wild and have lots of sex on holiday, so they use a spell to turn the holiday into a 1950s-themed tv-friendly thing. Sabrina gradually sees through the ruse and she nearly (implied) has sex just to spite her aunts. It's all resolved at the end with no sex occurring or being talked about directly.

[@MsJubjubbird]

yeah they have to be careful because of censorship ratings.

[@firelordkushroll]

That's usually the networks way of testing if their audience wants those aspects in the show or not.

[@neivilde.1242]

the episode i always find myself going back to is the 2x13 one, where sabrina gets to tell her mortal friends about her being a witch for one day, and seeing how great they were as friends

[@Dr-Zoid-Berserk]

Seeing Tara Strong was a surprise bit for me. The most famous and celebrated female VA in a show about female empowerment is cool. I’ve been listening to her work since my teens, and it turns out I’ve been following her acting since my single digits childhood.

[@sandiego2380]

oh enough with the emphasis on female empowerment! What makes Sabrina an enjoyable show and nothing like any woke sh*** is the fact that they didn't feel the need to emphasise on them being female and badass' The were badass who happened to be female. I'ma guy and I loved there show.

[@Dr-Zoid-Berserk]

@@sandiego2380 Star Trek and twilight zone were woke. Plenty of old tv shows are woke by todays standards.

[@CyberGirl1234]

⁠@@sandiego2380that’s the female empowerment! what you said is the whole point. not to emphasize on them being female and badasses. the badasses just happened to be female in this show :)

[@achristiananarchist2509]

The "It's a world of magic. Maybe one sister is black." thing made me chuckle. That doesn't even require magic. My sister is Jewish, but I'm not, because half-siblings are a thing. My aunt and uncle couldn't have kids and adopted their three children as a consequence so I have a Russian, Latino, and Chinese cousin despite being none of those things. There are plenty of inter-racial siblings out there.

[@saraa.4295]

True.. Though it actually could be an intresting juxtaposition if skincolor worked different in the other realm.. For example, imagine witches had a skincolor based on the phases of the moon when they were born, so it was no issue in the other realm, but whenever joining the human realm they would be faced with our predjudices...

[@achristiananarchist2509]

@@saraa.4295 I do like that.

[@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl]

​@@achristiananarchist2509but vast majority of families don't work like that

[@IceQueen975]

Yes, except that would mean Sabrina's grandfather or grandmother are black and that would mean ALL of the family would most likely not be blond haired ans blue eyed. They would be mixed. So the whole main cast would need to be recast. Magic doesn't make genetics go away...

[@saraa.4295]

@@IceQueen975 which we know based on all the studies done with magical families? ;) magic can do, whatever the creator of the world wants to do... If you want to imagine a world where every child born in summer is black, brown for spring, green for fall and white for winter...go for it!

[@Raktasdelespacio]

1:41:27 Series creator: "We didn't want to make her a character who cared about clothing." Proceeds to have Sabrina changing clothes in front of the the mirror as a major part of the opening!

[@renatoism]

Which was 5 seconds of the opening? The series itself wasn't about clothes or fashion or shopping.

[@addieleo6382]

A 16 year old young woman not caring about her clothing?!?!

[@Z-nl3ln]

@@addieleo6382 that’s me lol

[@juliemassam933]

I loved this show growing up, even as it changed! Also I remember standing up and loudly cheering when Sabrina walked out of that church and Harvey was there.

[@stephjovi]

Damn I was so happy. They never showed the last seasons on TV around here so I only saw that much later when I found it all online. I was so happy I could've cried ❤

[@robertgoodberry]

I love these retrospectives. There is something so cozy about them. Just started watching your channel recently and have been binging through the older ones. Very happy to see a new one!

[@darkpalidin]

One more fun thing about Paul Feig/Mr. Pool - he directed a bunch of episodes of The Office, including great ones like Office Olympics, Dinner Party, Niagara, and Goodbye, Michael.

[@jefforta4989]

Now his appearance in the last season makes sense.

[@kronosbach5263]

I was born in 2005 and grew up with Sabrina despite never even knowing about the connection to Archie. Our family was a bit poor so most stuff I watched for ages was the stuff we "legally procured" but due to low internet speed we just ended up downloading one or two shows at a time while rewatching the hardrives full of stuff like Zach and Cody, Jessey, Sabrina, and various cartoons like Avatar. I'm glad where we are now but it is funny how I'm nostalgic for so many older shows.

[@roringusanda2837]

I was able to read the old comics, Archie and Sabrina, and the little devil and Richie Rich...wish I still had those!

[@carolinahernandezroy6579]

Omg are we the same person? That was exactly my experience too!!

[@thestooshie]

This show will always have a special place in my heart. I am trans and selected the name Harvey because I think the character of Harvey was one of the earliest depictions of positive masculinity in a show that really made an impression on me. My youthful obsession with the season two episode where Sabrina uses magic to change gender is also one of the funnier early signifiers of my own feelings about my gender identity.

[@AoifeOConnor1996]

I watch a lot of video essays, and 90% of the time it’s just a recap of the series. This is a true, provocative, well written analysis. Love it!

[@CthulhusBFF2]

Harvey was peak himbo

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

I have a huge weakness for Miles too though :D Different reasons, of course lol

[@marocat4749]

Yes, and i like miles too. Really a lovable sweet weirdo nerd haha. And adorkable.

[@PpP-dr1od]

God, I hope MASH is on the list to be covered some day. I grew up on that show and it's an interesting to look back on it

[@ScotisticDad]

Oh yes. That would be great.

[@jefforta4989]

I used to watch MASH reruns late at night when I was a teenager, that and Roseanne. Paid for it the next morning but I would just sleep in the class I had the best grade in.

[@lars7282]

First season was so cozy and down to earth. I remember loving 2-3 but finding some episodes too loud and silly. 4 was kinda „cool“ as u grew up, but then it totally slipped. The new friends, the boring college, all the love interests (which was THE ultimative tv show trope back then, to be fair) and then the aunts leaving … No other show did SUCH a bad job at letting characters go, but especially Sabrina NEEDED most of these other characters, as good of an actress and comedian MJH was. Very interesting analysis about the feminist vibe in s1. Thanks for that from 🇩🇪

[@lylukk]

i was an absolute sabrina stan as a kid. my sister and i absolutely adored it, and it was even one of the few kids shows my mum actually enjoyed watching with us. we totally bought into everything sabrina, books, toys, the pc games. it had such a huge influence on me tbh. my family still randomly quotes or references the show to this day, generally salem quotes.

[@wandergals]

Same for us, I'm certain we could happily throw a series on & all sit watching it together like 20+ years hasn't passed. I actually rewatched some of it recently and it's just as good as ever, it was like a warm hug 😊 and for the rest of my life I will always refer to Friday as Fridya!

[@daviebananas1735]

The fact that Melissa Joan Hart took ecstasy and went right wing is bizarre.

[@stellviahohenheim]

I'd still do her though

[@ChrisG_90]

Her mum built her entire career for her - I think it tracks.

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

Wait what?

[@snakesnoteyes]

I mean she was in that Nickelodeon era that was notoriously run by a pedo with a foot fetish, so maybe not that bizarre

[@DaveWraptastic]

@@snakesnoteyes not her time and also the way Schneider is described online and what was actually proven in court is miles apart.

[@Stephen-Fox]

It occurs to me that having a time skip is a really elegant way of making a character now match the actors age after the series went into slow motion for a few seasons (after already had the lead be playing a bit younger than herself), particularly when dealing with a large cast changeover between seasons as this show did between S6 and S7.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

There's some pretty famous memes of super old actors in STTW and other sitcoms (maybe since forever and still now) floating around. Like the full-on balding dude at Sabrina's highschool hahaha And is it still a thing that we never did find out how old the Harvey actor was? I remember looking him up once and is age was "unknown" and I was like... woah lol Whats going on there? (Not mocking the bald, just the poor casting of extras xD)

[@mariaraquelfs]

Yes, it happened in Beverly Hills 90210 and Gossip Girl too (it should have in Pretty Little Liars)

[@K.Arashi]

uhhh just realizing how much this show influenced my clothing choices without me knowing, because so many of these outfits are things i would usually wear :O

[@kellygreengables3936]

Yes omg. The clothing/fashion was so good and fun. A lot of the styles still hold up today!

[@mariaraquelfs]

Yes!! They have a name for it now: whimsigoth. You gotta love the Zs obsession with naming aesthetics

[@K.Arashi]

@@mariaraquelfs thanks, just spent an hour on tiktok looking up whimsigoth 😊

[@mutahmarriagecounselor2272]

It's pure 90s

[@rb5078]

Please, please cover Blossom. That was such an important show for me growing up. I genuinely feel like the character of Blossom inspired part of who I am today. She really was a role model for me as a young girl. She was so real and relatable.

[@NinaFelwitch]

This show was a big part of my childhood. Who didn't have a crush on Sabrina? I certainly did.

[@Stephen-Fox]

I think I was more into Harvey as a kid, personally...

[@DaveWraptastic]

I hate to admit it but the cast of gorgeous women is probably why I liked this show even more. I even own all episodes on dvd which wasn't cheap to acquire in my country

[@rhythmandblues_alibi]

I had a crush on Salem 😂

[@lainiwakura1776]

Not me. I would have rather been a witch though.

[@prsent7787]

I had a crush on Libby.

[@MD-jn5yf]

I have such vivid memories of this show, and based on your summary, I think I started to gradually drop off watching it around season 3/4. Completely stopped watching by the network change. Part of it I think was that I was growing up, but I also think something about the show changed, like you describe. Losing Libby especially really switched up the dynamic of the show.

[@GG1Productions]

Fun fact (for me at least): the caterer at Hilda's wedding was Sean Cw Johnson who played Carter Grayson, the Red Ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!

[@-Genxzys-]

"Sabrina, I'm leaving you because Mariner Bay is under attack"

[@tonichan89]

It's baffling to me that Melissa Joan Hart wrote that the show didn't try to teach things, because it absolutely did... up to a certain point of the show anyway. There was almost always some sort of life lesson baked in each episodes, sometimes more bluntly than other times; hell, the aunts would sometimes speak the lesson out loud! "Don't blame your circumstances, go around them", "Don't take shortcuts" and so on.

[@mafeuk]

She said the show´s main purpose was to entertain but that does not mean the show did´t have any messages or teach any lessons. It was just done in a non-preachy way

[@Kyreille]

Ive got to say, one of my favorite books is called lonely werewolf girl where a laudunum addicted werewolf becomes slightly obsessed with the show.

[@jefforta4989]

I must read this novel now.

[@justingoldstein1577]

You rock. As an older person who missed being part of the target Sabrina audience your dissertation here has made me feel closer to my daughters who did love Sabrina, were part of its audience, And honestly judging the show as a male adult I didn't understand. Now I do, And I feel grateful, to something I had once discounted, for carrying some of the seeds of feminism, Female empowerment, and self-acceptance that my daughters would need. Thank you Jose For helping provide a clearer understanding

[@cutieboy24]

Looooove this show so much growing up, all characters were interesting and likable to an extend. Salem and the aunts were absolutely iconic, Sabrina was a strong female character but with very human flaws hence very relatable. Harvey was, i mean what to say about Harvey, literally my dream boyfriend growing up haha and not just because he looked like an absolute angel.

[@docjoe86]

One thing I noticed about this show is that they never used the term, “warlock.” Male witches were always just called witches. It was one way of trying to show gender equality.

[@mutahmarriagecounselor2272]

I think they did tho

[@docjoe86]

@@mutahmarriagecounselor2272 Bewitched called them warlocks all the time, but I don’t remember that in Sabrina. If they did call them warlocks sometimes, then they definitely called them witches more often.

[@jameshutchins3798]

These (Jose's sitcom retrospectives) are so great. Some of my favorite YT content, thanks Jose! MJH was my first celebrity crush and this show means a lot to me.

[@sparklearmy]

28:47 In her conversation with Salem, Zelda's line, "At 16, it's always true love," it struck such a chord with me. I think of it all the time.

[@Krwler]

I love these retrospectives. The best I’ve seen on KZbin, even though non of them are my favorite shows. They must take an age to make but any chance of seeing…. - Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Sopranos - The Wire???? Thanks for all your hard work

[@Missmagazinebura]

The college years felt wrong when Zelda and hilda left

[@Jamessmith-xk3fh]

I've noticed rewatching a few different teenage shows that aired on two different tv stations it seemed once they switched to the new channel it felt like a totally different show. Shows like Family Matters, Step By Step, Sister Sister and that one show where the dad was a sports show host and his daughter lived with him and she had a girl and guy friend

[@Vinicius_Berger]

17:56 Funnily enough, when Sabrina aired in Brazil starting in 1998 (on Nickelodeon), the series NEVER had a laugh track in the dub, and I LOVED that, because it felt so different from other sitcoms. It was only in 2011, when I was having a massive nostalgia trip and wanted to relive my childhood watching shows I grew up with, that I found out about that, 'cause I was searching for Sabrina dubbed in Portuguese, but I could only find it subtitled, and since I already spoke English, it wasn't a problem for me, but once I heard those laugh tracks... oh, boy, it COMPLETELY changed the series for me. To this day, I find Sabrina MUCH funnier without the laugh track.

[@mariaraquelfs]

Nossa, não lembrava que não tinha a claque em português... uns anos atrás revi a série em inglês mas vou ter que rever em português agora

[@Vinicius_Berger]

@@mariaraquelfs Pois é, hehe Sem a claque, o humor parece mais cínico, seco, sarcástico... Que é exatamente o meu tipo de humor, então eu adoro rsrs

[@mariaraquelfs]

@@Vinicius_Berger eu também curto esse tipo de humor. Igual Seinfeld quando tiram a claque que fica melhor que com

[@drakas110]

id like to say that the pancake thing is stated in the show as being a spellman only trait, i feel like now might be a good time to do a reboot of the show with Sabrian and Harvey having kids

[@vani7493]

I'd love that Their married life, helping their kids discover their magic, trying not the get found out by other mortals, occasional throwbacks or cameos to the old show....that would be so good!

[@Giraffe27]

⁠@@vani7493 maybe added conflict of some kids not having witch powers… since their mother is only half witch

[@pozestillusion]

Let me just state for the record that I want "Sabrina's Teenage Witch" as a sequel show SO BAD. I have most of the books, I had the phone, the computer games, the Salem Saberhagen Gigapet, so you know I'm for real.

[@starlitewishes11]

I watched this on and off as a kid when it was airing, and just finished binging the whole series on Amazon Prime. I found your video in a Sabrina Reddit thread, and I’m so pleased. I loved all the work you put into this to give background and behind the scenes info, and to share your analysis of certain themes. Thank you!!!

[@user-nk8dt1tj5w]

I can't put into words what this show means to me. I started watching it at six years old. There was something about all of this feminine power that really spoke to me (I was also totally crushing on Nate Richert, I just didn't know what it was when I was that young xD) I remember one of the episodes where Harvey was hit with a Cupid's arrow and fell in love with Zelda. I cried hysterically because I thought that meant he would never love Sabrina again...

[@boxcarhobo7017]

You are doing the best deep dive content out there. End of story. Period. Nobody can touch you. I just wait till your next video appears in the feed whenever that said day happens, put my phone on airplane mode and watch the entire latest manifesto all in one go of it single sitting without a care in the world. Thank you existing and your peerless work contribution to the medium. You're kinda The Goat, my friend.

[@Sre171]

You made me watch the show again for the first time in 20 years, and holy shit it holds up, season 1 is one of my favourite seasons of all time now. Let's see how the rest goes.

[@graemeh2009]

I was OBSESSED with Sabrina as a kid. I remember hating Saved By The Bell because (in the UK at least) Nickelodeon used to always pit them against each other in competitions. Thank you for the trip down memory lane for my favourite childhood show, and an interesting analysis on top of that. I daresay the camp vibe of the show probably made me love it so much

[@00Clank]

Enjoyed this show whenever I caught it on TV, I always loved Hilda and Zelda. Even now just hearing their choices makes me smile. I had never put together I was outside of the typical demographic.

[@sopranophantomista]

I just got finished listening to FriendlySpaceNinja's critique on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, so this is, like, perfect timing! Can't wait to see what you have to say.

[@brnjones9]

Perfect Timing! I've been binge watching this show for the past couple weeks- LOL! I had never seen past season 4. Definitely a favorite. Wish they could've made a successful spinoff with Sabrina and Harvey.

[@jbcatz5]

Brad only turns witches into mice when he directly calls one a witch not necessarily that he knows one to be one. This was the case with Dreama. The witch hunter aspect could have been a nice bit of world building, a force in the mortal realm working against witches and their magical activities but it’s largely there to have a fellow student to be antagonistic to Sabrina in Libby’s absence. There’s also the classic best friend I’ve never talked about the past three years cliche, as Brad is introduced as Harvey’s best friend despite him never being mentioned prior to his debut. Like Dreama it tends to come up when the plot needs it, rather than the characters being a part of this world and interacting with others as people and the way the storyline is resolved isn’t that satisfying. If a witch hunter gene removal operation is enough to remove the threat, it begs the question of why it wasn’t done sooner rather than in reaction to Dreama going rodent.

[@sapaulgoogdmen9542]

Literally one of the five shows me and my sister would call each other to the living room to watch together. We’re late 90’s kids so we watched the syndicated episodes. I still remember when she went to college and the opening changed and we used that to decide if we’d watch the episode or not lol

[@knight-_-meh]

growing up as a young man watching this with my older sister is a memory that i greatly treasure

[@kcjd8659]

5:46 I vote for a reboot with the original Sabrina and the original Harvey-bald head and all. Harvey and Sabrina raising teenage witches of their own sounds like a PERFECT REBOOT!

[@TrueGrandImperial]

I think this is the show that made me understand how acting worked as a stupid child. I knew and instantly recognized Clarissa, but now she's a witch and has a different name and family? I did the Tucker Carlson "What's going on here?!" in my head and it blew my mind.

[@beipiaosaurus]

I thought it was funny that when Sabrina got the journalism job it was basically what the failed pilot to Clarissa Explains It All's sequel was about. Even down to the concept of a previously quirky girl with powers (Clarissa's programming abilities on her 1990s desktop computer were basically magic) settling down to be a real person.

[@niahoad]

So clarissa really existed and was not just an imagination of my mind? I am reliefed

[@Xoxomaramber]

This was such a nice nostalgic deep dive. I’m starting to miss network television. And in a time where Friday night slots have long TV is a death sentence for a show, it’s quite interesting to remember how big of a deal TGIF was!

[@mathieuleader8601]

a prequel series about Hilda and Zelda and Vesta living with their foster/adoptive family would have been great

[@MsJubjubbird]

I'd also go for a love story between Ted and Sabrina's mother and the prejudice he faced. Or a show with Salem and Harvey

[@jfs983]

I forgot how much this show meant to me as a kid until I saw this pop up in my subscriptions feed. I'm glad to see it holds up so well in hindsight.

[@tungstenwastrel]

Great video, only note is that I feel like it was an odd choice to touch on Melissa Joan Hart's advocacy against gun violence but not her role in God's Not Dead 2.

[@beipiaosaurus]

Yeah I expected her apparently conservative mindset to be connected the lack of sex in this show.

[@FaiaHalo]

EXACTLY! Thank you! Specially since she supported and campaigned for a libertarian. If she actually cared, she wouldn't be a right winger who still upholds that oppressive system. I'm disappointed to say the least.

[@rubberlover666]

Her husband wears a lot of 3%er hats in pictures. It sounds like this anti gun violence stance might be recent based on her experience?

[@gigitastic90]

Or the fact she told her children people who dont believe in Jesús arent good people so her son got into it with a Jewish boy at school apparently.

[@FaiaHalo]

@@gigitastic90 yeah, that's so bigoted of her...

[@WhizWoz]

THIS is why I love KZbin. This is amazing. Thank you for such a brilliant rundown of one of my favourite ever shows.

[@kayleejazz1669]

Fun fact: Sabrina in the Archie comics, had a cross over with sonic the hedgehog which Archie was publishing at the time. And it wasn’t just once, it was twice. Due to comic shenanigans- sonic tried to suffocate her speeding real fast around.

[@necropasha]

you probably have patrons and your own priorities when choosing which series to work on next, but buffy the vampire slayer would be amazing.

[@tracychandler2681]

Wow! Here I am on September 27th (2023), stumbling across this interesting find. Taking me back to one of my enjoyable high school TV shows. Nice. 😊

[@Spookybluelights]

Fun fact: Cake Guy in the soulmate episode was played by Sean C.W. Johnson who played the red ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. He’s a cool dude and is still that impossibly good looking.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

I clocked him too! hahaha

[@jefforta4989]

Lightspeed rescue had a good plot especially Captain Mitchell's story. Never admitted to anybody at the time that I watched it because I was 11-12 but Sasha Williams (the yellow ranger) was so pretty I was hooked. Time Force also had a pretty good story, so I got hooked on the series for another year as a 12-13 year old. Never started watching Wild Force, but I hear I didn't miss much because the Disney years were pretty bad for that franchise. I did catch the Forever Red special one Saturday morning before leaving for work. Glad I did too because I was a pretty big ASJ/Jason fan. That was the last one I watched during it's original airing. I had just turned 14.

[@ChibiFighter]

I have to give you credit Jose I never really quite got on board with Arrested Development nor Sabrina the Teenage Witch but you really convinced me why these two separate shows are both extremely special also I've always found Caroline Rhea pretty funny

[@bareakon]

Realising how much this show influenced my fashion sense, musical taste, taste in women, and media diet.

[@spuriusbrocoli4701]

Melissa Joan Heart was also (unfortunately, imo) the lead in "God's Not Dead 2".

[@stephjovi]

Yeah sadly that kinda crap is what she stands for these days. I've seen clips of it. It definitely does not represent atheists at all

[@alisaurus4224]

@@stephjovi strawmen are easier to argue against

[@jacksonteller3973]

@@stephjovi at least she's pro-LGBTQ and pro-gun-control, she's not a total nutcase like Kevin Sorbo or Scott Baio or Rick Schroder.

[@JohnSmith-rw2yn]

Salem was that good that my 6 year old self when this debuted my mum, dad and even grandad liked Salem, because sometimes all the chaos around Sabrina, Salem would just pop in there with "well this is stupid" 😂 Favourite lines from him are "and denial is a river in Egypt" "NooooooooOooo" "The names Salem, but you can call me doctor love" and "Finally, someone whose life is more pathetic than mine!"

[@MsJubjubbird]

Salem writing into a media outlet to complain about Nick Bakay was a great moment in the show

[@JohnSmith-rw2yn]

@@MsJubjubbird Omg did he, I missed that, must have gone whoosh over my childs head 🤣

[@mewdreamer]

This was a great video. While I didn't see the series as it was airing, I did watch Sabrina reruns back in the day on ABC Family. I was able to see how some of those season cliffhangers were resolved faster than I would have if I was watching the series on ABC or WB, but I remember still getting annoyed at how quickly they were fixed or resolved off screen like Harvey breaking up with Sabrina after learning the truth. The reading about how Sabrina has to hide her magic in to be accepted also reminded me of how masking can feel for neurodivergent, which is quite relatable for me as an autistic person. The focus on Sabrina's love life did get a bit much during the later seasons and I do think that the series had lost some of its charm by the college years, especially when both Aunts were written out, but it was still generally pretty fun. The ending with Sabrina and Harvey finally being together and riding off into the sunset is rather sweet and charming too.

[@theadamdisney]

I CAN'T believe you did this retrospective. Dude you are my hero. I love this show so much and go back to it when I really need to disconnect from life and feel like myself. It's great of you to point out things I didn't know about - looking back I can see the showrunners departure from season one and wonder how it would have evolved with her still there. I think perhaps it would have been better had she stayed... but who knows. The show certainly took some strange turns, including the theme song change...which a show would never EVER do now. Also by the time college rolled around (and my two favorite aunts were gone) it was a hard pill to swallow. Still it's a show forever burned into my heart and I have such a love for it.

[@artsymamabee1619]

You’ve made this 90’s teenage girl so happy 🎉😊