Magical Facts About ‘Sabrina, The Teenage Witch’

Let’s Talk Appearances

Seven seasons and 163 episodes, only TWO of the show’s stars appeared in ~every single episode~. That’s right, Sabrina Spellman and Salem Saberhagen are the only two to have done so.

Farewell Thee Well

And the goodbye hits just keep a-comin’! After the sixth season, Sabrina’s awesome witchy aunts, Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick, decided to leave. As Sabrina was starting college, the role of her aunts was less important. Broderick also felt that her role of Zelda had nothing more to offer to the story-line, while Rhea launched her own syndicated talk show, The Caroline Rhea Show.

Filling a Void

To fill the void that Josh’s character left behind, Dylan Neal stepped in. Neal portrayed Aaron, Sabrina’s last love interest in the show’s final season. (Thank goodness they didn’t end up getting married and Sabrina ended up with her soulmate Harvey instead!)

Sista-Sista

Remember Sabrina’s bratty cousin Amanda? Well she made guest appearances throughout the show and none of the fans liked snobby Amanda, welp, turns out that Amanda is played by none other than Melissa Joan Hart’s younger sister, Emily Hart.

Age is but a number

Seems to be a reoccurring theme with many casting choices but our girl Melissa Joan Hart was actually 20 years old when the show started but her character was 16.

New Look

It wasn’t until the late 90’s that Zelda and Hilda’s appearances and personalities were changed up to make them appear more contemporary. They often dressed just as chic as Sabrina, and in the 90’s, that’s a compliment as fashion designers weren’t the only ones creating the worst trends.

Spin-Off

After Sabrina, The Teenage Witch ended, an animated spin-off series was born. Melisa’s younger sister, Emily, went on to voice Sabrina while Melissa voiced Sabrina’s aunts. It only ran for one season, with 65 episodes.

No Doubt

Throughout the show’s entirety, it was no secret that Sabrina’s favorite band is No Doubt. So when the closing theme rolled, the final song that fans heard was No Doubt’s “Running” – talk about a picture perfect ending!

Switcharoo

Hilda Spellman’s middle name wasn’t consistent in the show’s run. In season six, it is revealed that her middle name is ‘Sucker’, although back in season two, it was said that her middle name was Antoinette.

Same Name

Thanks to the Archie Comics, the character of Sabrina was born. However, she was nothing like the Sabrina that we all know and love from the epic show. In the comic, she actually used her magic to entice men and torture anyone who got in her way.

My FAV

Turns out that Melissa’s all-time favorite Sabrina episode is in season three, the episode titled “Pancake Madness.” Hart said, “It was probably my most fun episode. I just remember digging through garbage cans and having the syrup woman dancing around me in an IHOP place. It’s just those fun, silly moments and the physical comedy.”

Backstory

The earlier comics depict Salem as your run-of-the-mill ordinary orange colored feline who can’t speak. After the success of the 90’s show, Salem’s backstory and character got a touch up to explain how he became a cat. Well, he got a ton of new changes actually – from standing up the Head Witch at the altar to attempting to use magic to seduce a moral.

Say What Now!

Turns out that the ZIP code for Sabrina’s town of Westbridge, Massachusetts had special meaning. The ZIP code is 01970 which is the same ZIP code for Salem, Massachusetts, otherwise known as the ‘Witch City.’ Coincidence? We think not!

One…or the Other

So which aunt does Melissa Joan Hart favor more? Well, in a recent interview, Hart admitted, “I can’t decide. That would be awful. Both the ladies would attack me if I picked one or the other. I have love for both of them. We, all three ladies, have strong personalities, and there are times we’d all get along, and times when we all were fighting, but we have a close relationship now.”

Failed Spin Off

Emily Hart was supposed to get her own spin-off, which revolved around Sabrina’s younger witch-cousin, Amanda. The season five episode titled “Witchright Hall” was meant to act as a “backdoor” pilot about headstrong warlocks and witches. However, the WB chose not to ran with the series.

Dogs Rule, Cats Drool

Unlike our witchy friend Sabrina Spellman, Melissa Joan Hart isn’t actually all that into cats. “I’m a dog person,” Hart admitted to Vulture in 2013. “Being around that Salem cat too much…the set was covered in cat food. So yeah, I can’t do cats anymore.” Oh snap.

Wardrobe Blues

Yup, Aunt Hilda did in fact hate the costumes! And there wasn’t much that 90’s fashion designers could do about it. “They were the worst costumes in the entire world,” said Caroline Rhea. “Really, it was ridiculous. [Sabrina] was dressed like an accountant going to high school. It always looked like I was going to a coronation for a very senior royal member. I was like, ‘It’s breakfast, my hair is this high.’”

Daddy’s Girl

Martin Mull played the notoriously uptight Mr. Kraft and he chose to star on the show for a very sweet reason – his daughter. “The main reason I was anxious to do that was that my daughter was 10 or 11 at the time, and there was no bigger show with 10- or 11-year-old girls in the world than Sabrina,” Mull said. “So I thought, ‘My God, I can also curry favor with my daughter,’ who was about to enter into those teenage years where you’re nothing but just a bag of crap if you’re a father.”

Turkish Remake

There was a Turkish remake of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch titled Acemi Cadi, which translates to “Novice Witch.” Sabrina is known as Aysegul while her aunts are named Selda and Melda. Salem is known as Duman. However the Turkish remake didn’t rate so high on the IMDB scale, earning a mere 3.5/10! Yikes.

Roll the Credits

The opening sequence for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch changed a bunch season-to-season. The first three seasons however remained consistent, the only change being Sabrina’s final outfit.

I’m A Writer

Nick Bakay voiced everyone’s favorite onscreen cat Salem Saberhagen but he did more than that! He actually wrote 12 episodes of the series. Not too shabby.

Friendship

There has been A TON of speculation that a Sabrina reunion and reboot is in the works and since much of the cast is still in touch today, we all have hope! Lots and lots of hope. Hart admits that she is still in regular contact with the likes of Caroline Rhea, Nate Richert and Soleil Moon Frye. Lindsay Sloane and Beth Broderick even starred on her ABC Family show Melissa and Joey. Fingers crossed, folks!

Cameo Roles A-Plenty

There were many, many cameo appearances from some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Bryan Cranston, Usher, N’SYNC, Backstreet Boys, Jerry Springer, and Milo Ventimiglia. Those are of course just SOME in a mile long list.

Not Always a Half-Witch

If you’ve ever read the original 1962 comic, you’ll note that Sabrina wasn’t even a half-witch instead she was ‘created’ by her aunts, Hilda and Zelda. The television show changed her backstory to include a human mother and witch father.

Winner, Winner

Hart won 3 Young Artist Awards including, Best Performance in a TV Comedy: Leading Young Actress, Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Performer, and Favorite Television Actress. Girl power!

Quite the Influence

Back in November 2013, Melissa admitted that she and Britney Spears were friends and that Hart even took an underage Britney to her first club. Hart said, “She was underage so I snuck her in the backdoor and we did a little dancing.” Ahh, to be young again.

Not Always Besties

The core of the Sabrina cast revolved around Melissa Hart, Caroline Rhea, and Beth Broderick of course. While they got along for the most part, they had their share of spats as well. Hart admitted, “We, all three ladies, have strong personalities, and there are times we’d all get along, and times when we all were fighting.”

Candy Corn

If you can recall the season two Halloween episode titled “A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It?” Well, the truth is, the title was far more literal than you know. Melissa said, “There was literally a dump truck full of candy corn dumping it on us.” Sounds messy but also amazing all at the same time.

Location, Location, Location

The comic book was set in the fictional town of Greendale, while the television show was instead set in the fictional Boston suburb known as Westbridge, Massachusetts. Not that bad of a change to be honest!

Mr. Pool

During the first season, Sabrina’s favorite teacher taught Biology and his character was a bit bitter and sarcastic, but loveable nonetheless. However, after season one, Mr. Pool isn’t mentioned or seen ever again!

The Battle

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch was THE highest-rated series on ABC but in the 2000-2001, the show moved to the WB after a negotiation dispute. Apparently, ABC did want to renew the show for another season but didn’t want to pay $1.5 million per episode to Viacom Productions, who produced the show. When the WB took over, they only just $675,000 per episode, but committed to 44 episodes.