If we could point a finger and cast a spell to make the Sabrina the Teenage Witch reboot rumor true, we would. Alas, on Thursday, Sept. 30, Melissa Joan Hart, who played the titular role in the long-running series and film, put revival speculation to rest.
"Sorry witches," she wrote on Instagram. "Someone made some fantastic looking art work and even some of our cast and crew believed the viral posts but NO, we have no reboot planned."
For those who missed it, Hart is referring to some fan-fiction art that rebranded the series as Sabrina's Teenage Witch. Thanks to a catchy tagline, which read, "Like mother, like daughter," it was implied that the alleged new show would follow witch Sabrina and her teenage daughter. And it's no wonder people were ready to grab their witch hats and tune in, as the key art looked pretty legit.
Although there's no reboot in the works, Hart did admit that the fake campaign got her excited about the idea of revisiting the series, adding, "But sadly it's not up to me, it's up to whoever owns the rights which is probably #ArchieComics or @cbs network who owns Viacom @viacomcbs."
This viral stunt could not have been timelier, as it fell amid the original show's 25th anniversary. Sabrina the Teenage Witch first debuted on ABC on Sept. 27, 1996, and went on to air for seven seasons.
In honor of this milestone, Hart shared a tribute on Instagram. "The little engine that could we called it since it was in the shadows of the largely anticipated show #Clueless," she wrote, "but it persevered and we got to steal @reddonovan to come over to our fun cast. Tons of talented guest stars, musical acts and magic tv tricks over the years. Full of friendships and crazy memories, it was an incredible ride to be sure!"
Of course, the Sabrina legacy has lived on, with Netflix's reboot of the character in a darker, new series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Though Hart wasn't involved in this iteration of the show—which starred Kiernan Shipka and ran for four seasons—she did give it her stamp of approval.
"It's kind of like a sisterhood when you play the same characters I think," she told E! News in 2018. "Probably like the way the James Bond guys feel, or something…But I think it's great."
If only we had another reboot to look forward to...You listening, Archie Comics?