What To Know
- The cast of Sabrina the Teenage Witch reunited in Chicago to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary.
- Stars like Melissa Joan Hart and Beth Broderick highlighted how the sitcom has helped fans worldwide.
- The show remains beloved and widely watched.
When it debuted, viewers knew Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a lighthearted comedy about magic and talking cats based on the classic Archie comic, but few could have predicted it would become a global comfort show that would help some fans learn English and others get through difficult times.
To celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary, the cast of Sabrina reunited in Chicago on June 13, giving fans a chance to look back on the beloved sitcom’s lasting impact three decades after its debut. At the reunion were stars Melissa Joan Hart, Beth Broderick, Caroline Rhea, Soleil Moon Frye, Nate Richert, Michelle Beaudoin, Jenna Leigh Green, Elisa Donovan, and David Lascher.
“It’s still so loved. It’s so international. So many people come to me and say it got them through a hard time, or they learned English from the show. All these amazing things that you hear that, over time you hear it so much that you have to start to believe that it meant a lot to people. So that’s huge,” said Hart to People.
The goofy magic, Salem the cat, and Sabrina’s endless teenage mishaps helped make the sitcom a hit in the late ’90s. But as Broderick pointed out, even a house full of witches couldn’t have predicted that the show would still be casting a spell on viewers 30 years later, and airing somewhere in the world on just about any given day.
“When we were doing the show, we knew that we were onto something,” said Broderick. “We knew that we were going to be a hit. You could just feel it. But nobody expects to be valid and a hit for 30 years. Of course, we’re still on pretty much every day in every country in the world.”
On Instagram, Rhea offered some words of wisdom: “Hard to believe we started this coven 30 years ago on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Sometimes I watch the show, and I don’t remember doing it, and I think, ‘They seem fun.’ It was and always will be such a huge part of my life. I think it worked because we really believed we were family and witches. Thank you, Chicago, for being such an incredible audience for our celebration. The gift associated with a 30-year anniversary is pearl. Here are my pearls of wisdom: Believe in Magic! If your cat talks back to you, that’s totally normal. Use your power for GOOD. Best Witches, Aunt Hilda.”
Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Streaming now, Hulu