Sabrina the Teenage Witch would be incomplete without her familiar, Salem, a human who was turned into a cat against his will. Unfortunately, the bond between witch and kitty may not be very magical in Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The lead actress has allergies.
Sabrina star Kiernan Shipka chatted with Vulture about how nice it is to be acting alongside people her own age, given her biggest previous job was playing Don Draper’s daughter on Mad Men.
However, she did add that there is a bit of drama behind the scenes. During the first month on set, Shipka broke out in hives after picking up one of the five cats that play Salem. This is how the actress found out she’s allergic to cats.
“The cat is the one cast member I don’t get along with,” Shipka said.
In the 1990s TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Salem stuck to Sabrina like syrup on pancakes. In that version, he was a warlock dictator who tried to take over the world, but became a lot cuddlier thanks to his 100-year sentence as a cat.
In Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, he’s a teenager who was turned into a familiar after impregnating a witch and refusing to marry her — but it’s OK, the Devil said if he does a good job protecting Sabrina, he can become human again. So, think less “fluffy friend” and more “voice of reason under the guidance of Satan”.
All the same, I hope this doesn’t mean Salem won’t get as many pets in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He might be a naughty boy, but he’s still a good kitty.