Netflix's 'Sabrina' Reboot Just Found Its Harvey & Disney Fans Will Totally Recognize Him

Netflix has been slowly rolling out news about its upcoming Sabrina The Teenage Witch reboot. And although details surrounding the show's revamp remain under-wraps, this latest report that Ross Lynch is playing Harvey Kinkle in the new Sabrina series helps offer more insight into the comic book adaptation's possible narrative. While the series' currently remains unnamed, E! News revealed that Lynch was recently cast to play Sabrina's boyfriend Harvey in the forthcoming series. The role places Lynch opposite Mad Men actor Kiernan Shipka, who was casted in the lead role of Sabrina this past January.

A fresher face in Hollywood, 22-year-old Lynch got his start in the Disney's Teen Beach Movie franchise and also appeared on the channel's Austin & Ally series. More recently, he took on the role of portraying infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the film My Friend Dahmer.

The Sabrina reimagining, which is being adapted from the Archie Comics' graphic 2014 comic book series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, will certainly have a much darker storyline than the sweet and bubbly Sabrina The Teenage Witch series of the late '90s and early 2000s. According to E!, Harvey's official character description describes him as follows:

"Sabrina's boyfriend. The prince charming of this dark fairy tale, Harvey is the son of a coal miner, a dreamboat and a dreamer, completely unaware of the dark forces conspiring to keep him and Sabrina apart."

The one-hour reboot, which will reportedly reimagine the adventures of Sabrina as a dark drama, notably leans more toward the horror genre. According to Vulture, the logline for the Netflix show reads:

“Reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.”

Despite initially being set to premiere on the CW as a companion series to fellow Archie Comics property Riverdale, the upcoming Sabrina project switched gears after being reportedly offered a two season, 20 episode order from Netflix. CW president Mark Pedowitz spoke on the switch-up back in January, telling Entertainment Weekly:

“There was opportunity that Warners had that Netflix made them a two season offer. We understood that, and I wish Roberto and everybody really well as far as that goes. We have great development in Charmed and a number of other shows, so we’ll muddle through it.”

There was also chatter that the Sabrina character would first be introduced into the Riverdale narrative before spinning off into its own series, due to a mentioning of Sabrina's hometown, Greendale in past episodes of the CW drama.

There’s also the fact that Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge have both had minor appearances in the second issue of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic books. However, it’s unclear whether that will actually happen now that the project has been moved to Netflix. Seemingly shutting down the notion of a crossover during his chat with EW, Pedowitz explained, “At the moment, there is no discussion about crossing over.”

No matter what happens in terms of linking the new show to Riverdale's narrative, it's safe to say that the second-coming of Sabrina will be well received by fans of the CW teen drama due to its similar foundation. Variety indicated that Riverdale showrunner and chief creative officer of Archie Comics, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, will serve as writer and executive producer. And it is anticipated that repeat Riverdale director Lee Toland Krieger will direct and executive produce, while fellow Riverdale EPs Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater will also serve as executive produce on the upcoming project. In addition to Lynch and Shipka, the show will also feature Lucy Davis as Aunt Hilda, and Miranda Otto as Aunt Zelda.

With details surrounding the highly anticipated Sabrina reboot still forthcoming, the latest news of Lynch's casting offers fans a closer outlook on what's to come when it finally airs.