Are you an Ambrose Spellman fan? Great, then TheWrap’s here to help you eat your heart out with the story of how the “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” character’s catchphrase came to be.
If you’ve already binged the first season of Netflix’s new take on the half-witch teen, then you totally know what we’re talking about here: Ambrose, played by British actor Chance Perdomo, refers to Kiernan Shipka’s Sabrina Spellman (his cousin) with a simple, but oh-so-powerful “cousin.”
And it’s not just how he says it, but the fact he does it over and over and over again. (Not that we’re complaining.)
The love for Ambrose — and the way the warlock calls out his half-mortal ‘cuz — runs so deep, super-cuts have been created in his honor (see below):
here’s what you’ll be listening to on an infinite loop today. you’re welcome. sound on. pic.twitter.com/QfdBYy7R7x
— Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (@sabrinanetflix) November 21, 2018
And this obsession is not lost on “Sabrina” creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who tells TheWrap: “Yes, yes, I’m well aware of that. I’m well aware of that. (laughs) Yes, he uses cousin a lot.”
Aguirre-Sacasa, who is also the creator and showrunner on The CW’s “Riverdale” — another dark take on the Archie Comics universe — says this overuse of the term of endearment came about because of his own writing style, and Perdomo’s ownership of the word.
“All of the actors [on ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Riverdale’] are always making fun of me because they are always using the other characters’ names. And I always say that it’s because, you know, it never gets old if one of you says ‘Jug,’” he said, referring to Cole Sprouse’s “Riverdale” character, Archie Andrew’s best friend Jughead Jones.
“And I asked Chance, ‘What do you think about that?’ And he said, ‘Well people just love hearing the words Jughead Jones. And it never gets old.’ And I think with Ambrose, it never gets old hearing him call Sabrina ‘cousin,’ which is the fun of him doing it.”
Oh, if you haven’t already heard, Aguirre-Sacasa had originally considered Perdomo for the role of Jughead before he cast him on “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
“I think Chance is a star,” he said. “He auditioned for ‘Riverdale’ for Jughead. And I remembered his audition and when we were getting ready to do ‘Sabrina,’ I was like, ‘There’s this kid who read for Jughead and I think he’d be a great Ambrose.’”
Thank the Dark Lord he landed that part instead, since “cousin” would truly be wasted on Jughead.
“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” Season 1 is available for streaming now on Netflix.