ACE Comic Con Midwest: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Kiernan Shipka and Ross Lynch

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix has been very different from the light-hearted original series some people may know. This Sabrina is a dark, twisting (and exciting!) journey through teenage angst, heavenly-hellish fights, and the world of witches and warlocks.

Two of the shows’ stars, Kiernan Shipka (Sabrina) and Ross Lynch (Harvey) stopped by ACE Comic Con Midwest to chat about the show.

Edited for length and clarity

Did you prepare with the original Sabrina series or the graphic novel (by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa)? 
Kiernan Shipka: I went pretty much straight to the graphic novel because I knew that’s where our show was going to be the most similar to…Honestly episode after episode I’ve learned something new about my character after every episode….the more that you live these experience with your character, the more we film the more your character goes through the richer the stories get, the cooler the relationships get. It kind of keeps getting better and better.

On how similar (or not) Ross is to Harvey:
Ross Lynch: You’ll be cast for anything if you possess a certain energy that they’re looking for in the character…you’ll always have a bit of you in it. You can’t ever escape yourself fully. So I do think there’s a bit of me in Harvey, for sure.

On the horror (and occult) nature of the show:
Kiernan Shipka: How do I tell my Catholic grandma was my first reaction. And she actually watches the show and loves it!

Ross Lynch: I was actually the kid that was always scared of horror films…but now I love ’em. I think the show kind of made me more into the horror genre because it really shows you all the creative aspects of the horror genre.

On how their characters have grown over the course of the show:
Kiernan Shipka: I definitely think that Sabrina has grown up quite rapidly from when we first met her…I think for Sabrina she’s come into her own power. She’s realized she can be badass; she can be powerful; she can be strong and stand up for herself…She’s made a lot of mistakes and gone through a lot of complicated decisions. In the upcoming season we’ll see her as the most evolved witch she’s ever been.

Ross Lynch: He’s just thrown into a whirlwind of chaos because his girlfriend happened to be a witch. I think it’s a similar story for Harvey. His story is a coming-of-age story. He’s learning how to be a man, think on his own, figure out what he believes, and to make decisions for himself.

On what their familiar would be if they had one:
Kiernan Shipka: My dog, Franky. She is a giant, 100 pound Salem. If I had to pick another familiar, I’d pick a bird.

Ross Lynch: If you could pick anything, why not a snow leopard? Even a griffin? It can fly, but it’s also a cat.

Kiernan Shipka: I might go with a panda…

Ross Lynch: You’d always have a snuggle buddy. That actually sounds pretty nice.

Check out some more ACE Comic Con Midwest content with Gwendoline Christie, Kit Harington, and Brie Larson & Tessa Thompson!