Netflix cancels Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – so fans are trying to save it

(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has cancelled Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the horror-themed teen series that rebooted Archie Comics character Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The last eight episodes will air later this year, Netflix has confirmed. Naturally, fans aren't delighted by the decision, and have begun a campaign to save the show.

Over 30,000 fans have signed a Change.org petition to save the series. The last new episodes of the show were released back in January of this year, which marked the first half of its third season.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has, at one time or another, been kicking around our list of the best Netflix shows. Starring Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman, it's a surprisingly grim and serious take on the character that stems from a popular comic of the same name. 

Both the series and comic were the work of creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who also created The CW series Riverdale. Netflix's interest in the show was seemingly part-motivated by the success of Riverdale on the streaming platform.

When this final set of episodes arrives, 36 episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will have been produced.

Why does Netflix cancel shows?

It's hard to tell why some series stick around at Netflix for years and years, while others get cancelled. That's because Netflix doesn't release viewing data for its shows, so all we have to go on is either third-party audience metrics or the very basic Top 10 lists Netflix now provides as standard on the service.

As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, though, Sabrina is just one Netflix cancellation or ending announcement of several that's happened in recent weeks. Shows like Ozark, The Kominsky Method and Dead To Me are coming to an end, too, and what they all have in common is that studios outside Netflix produced them. 

That doesn't necessarily mean anything, though, since all these shows were multiple seasons into their runs before the decision to end them had been made. 

Samuel Roberts

Samuel is a PR Manager at game developer Frontier. Formerly TechRadar's Senior Entertainment Editor, he's an expert in Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix shows and general streaming stuff. Before his stint at TechRadar, he spent six years at PC Gamer. Samuel is also the co-host of the popular Back Page podcast, in which he details the trials and tribulations of being a games magazine editor – and attempts to justify his impulsive eBay games buying binges.