“Sabrina the Teenage Witch” is a certified Criterion title, believe it or not.
The beloved franchise about a beloved occult teen, iconically played by Melissa Joan Hart, is officially amongst the new streaming selections for the Criterion Channel. “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” centered on Sabrina (Hart), a high school student who lives with her two aunts Hilda (Caroline Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick) as she navigates coming into her powers. Her cat Salem (Frank Conniff) also provides snarky spiritual guidance.
The ABC-produced franchise was based on the comic book series that debuted in 1971. The “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” show is available to stream on Paramount+ as of 2023.
The 1996 TV movie was a spinoff of the TV series, and was followed by 1998’s “Sabrina Goes to Rome” and 1999’s “Sabrina Down Under.”
Now, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” joins Criterion’s “Witches” programming for October 2024, ushering in the 40-year anniversary of the Criterion platform. IndieWire has reached out to Criterion for comment.
The official series description reads: “From the eerie to the mystical to the glamorous, some of cinema’s most enchanting witches cast their spell in this satan’s brew of black magic and occult horror. Embodying cultural fears and fantasies around powerful women and the shadowy, forbidden flip side of the everyday patriarchal order, witches have captivated audiences almost since the beginning of filmmaking. In the silent era, the sui generis ‘Häxan’ blended documentary and gothic horror to macabre effect, while the 1960s and ’70s cast witches as reflections of the counterculture in films like ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Girl on the Broomstick.’ More recently, movies like ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ and ‘The Love Witch’ have made women who dabble in the dark arts symbols of pop empowerment, occupying their own space between the earthly and the supernatural and connecting ancient traditions to modern rituals.”
The featured films, in addition to “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” include: “Häxan” (1922), “Black Sunday” (1960), “Il demonio” (1963), “Viy” (1967), “The Witches” (1967), “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “The Girl on the Broomstick” (1972), “Suspiria” (1977), “Alison’s Birthday” (1981), “The Witches” (1990), “The Crucible” (1996), “Witch Madness” (1999), and “The Love Witch” (2016).
The full programming also has themed curated picks for “Stories by Stephen King,” “Japanese Horror,” and “Horror F/X.”
Additionally, a “Starring Winona Ryder” series centered around “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Stranger Things” star Winona Ryder ranges across her career, spanning from “Heathers” (1989) to “Autumn in New York” (2000).
Check out the full October Criterion Channel lineup here.
