First of all, if you haven’t watched The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by now, get bingeing girl! But if you’re anything like us, you’re already obsessed with Kiernan Shipka as badass half-witch Sabrina Spellman – who isn’t afraid to stand up for her besties one minute and take on the Dark Lord the next! GF’s ed Stacey had a one-on-one chat with Kiernan about growing up in the public eye, living next-door to Ross Lynch and what’s next in Season 2. Praise Satan!
Congratulations on the success of Season 1 of CAOS. How does it feel?
It feels amazing! We put our blood, sweat, and tears into this show and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it’s the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, so to have people responding to it in such a nice way feels very good.
Did you have any nerves before the season dropped on Netflix?
It’s interesting because we were still filming, so we were in this little bubble of production in Vancouver, so I kind of had a lot of mixed feelings about it coming out. On one hand, I was really antsy for people to see it but then I knew it would take on this other life and be this bigger thing. So yeah I guess I was nervous to see what people thought of it because we had so many dedicated fans who were excited about it before it even came out – which blew my mind! – so I really hoped it lived up to their expectations. By that point I had seen most of it – I knew I was proud of it and that it turned out well, so I had a good feeling about it.
What was it about the character of Sabrina that you loved?
I really loved how she’s so different from anyone I’ve ever played before. She’s so whip-smart and kind of a detective, like a witchy Nancy Drew, and I loved that about her. I loved how if something wasn’t right she stood up for what she believed in and spoke up and I thought that was a really important thing in 2019. I also loved her humour. She’s witty and funny but at the same time the show is super serious and she goes through a lot, so everything together made a great character.
Do you feel like you’re similar to Sabrina in any way?
I think I definitely am in some ways. Sabrina is a really inspirational young girl. She’s 16 and she knows her worth and doesn’t sell herself short – I think all that stuff is so awesome and amazing. I hope I’m like her in that way. But I guess our personalities are super different, and obviously we have a very different set of life circumstances!
Yeah, just a little bit!
Just a little different… She’s obviously going through stuff I don’t have to deal with. I definitely relate to her in a lot of ways, but our personalities are really different. We’d definitely get along though. We’re both Scorpios, actually!
And obviously Sabrina isn’t allergic to cats like you are! Can you tell us about how you found out?
Oh my God, yes! I found out I was allergic through trial and error on the set. I had been holding the cat up to my face in a scene because he was really cute, but then I got hives that night. I didn’t put it all together for some reason because we were filming and it was the first episode so I was thinking, “Maybe my body is just adjusting or it’s the stress and pressure right now and that’s why I’m breaking out.” I didn’t even think about it being the cat. But the next time my entire face was covered in hives and I had ice packs on my face to get the swelling down. It was gnarly! Then I went in for an allergy test and found out it was the cat. There was this time in Season 2 – and I won’t give away too much or it will be a spoiler – but the cat started walking and was almost about to walk off this little ledge. I’m sure it would’ve been fine, but my animal-loving heart was like, “No, I have to save the cat from the step” so I ran and picked him up and everyone was screaming, “Don’t touch the caaaaat!”
The show is filmed in Vancouver, so is it a little bit like school camp with the cast?
Yeah, totally! Ross Lynch is my literal neighbour. He lives right next door and I always feel like I’m waking him up, because my smoke detector goes off a lot when I’m cooking and it’s very sensitive and he’s always checking if his music is too loud, so it’s cute. But we’re good neighbours to each other. Everyone lives in walking distance to each other.
And the Riverdale cast film in Vancouver, too. Do you spend much time with them?
Yeah, it’s so fun! I feel like we always say we’re going to hang out more than we do, then we end up being super busy but it’s really good! I’ve been to a few of their parties and I really love them all.
We’re so excited for Season 2! Can you tell us anything about it?
I did a little bit of voice recording for it today so I just got the first peek at it and it’s sooooo good! I would say that it’s fiercer, the stakes are higher, the relationships are more charged and overall it’s this bigger, better, scarier season! The first season was the introduction to everything but this second season is really twisted and a lot more lives are in danger. You’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time. There were scenes we were filming where people would say, “Do you think I’m going to make it out alive this season!?” and they were big characters we’re talking about! So it’s really intense but its a really fun watch.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 2 drops on Netflix on April 5.
To read more of our killer chat with Kiernan (which also includes her thoughts on Harbina!) pick up the Autumn issue of Girlfriend – on sale now.
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