Netflix has released a new preview clip of “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” revealing that this version of Salem the cat will be quite a bit different from what we’ve seen in the past.
In the clip released on Thursday, Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) comes face-to-face with Salem for the first time. What she meets is not a wise-cracking former witch being punished for trying to take over the world, but a magical creature who takes the form of a cat to serve as Sabrina’s “familiar” or companion.
The new backstory — which also diverges slightly from series creator Robert Aguirre-Sacasa’s source graphic novel — is in line with the spookier tone of the new series, where the titular teenage witch finds herself literally haunted by the devil.
The series, which stars “Mad Men” alum Shipka and former Disney star Ross Lynch, is set to debut on Oct. 26, just in time for Halloween.
Also starring are Chance Perdomo as Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose, Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood, Lucy Davis as Aunt Hilda, Miranda Otto as Aunt Zelda, Tati Gabrielle as Prudence and Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardell.
Aguirre-Sacasa executive produces the Warner Bros. Television production, along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater and director Lee Toland Krieger.