Although some (us, basically) may argue that Salem was the best part of 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch', it looks like he won't be featuring much in Netflix's reimagining of the series, 'The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'.
While the first teaser did point out that the series is going to much more darker and weirder than the light-hearted sitcom we loved in the late '90s, there's also a much more practical reason for Salem's absence and it's kind of funny - Kiernan Shipka, who plays Sabrina, is allergic to cats.
Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacusa told EW that "it did go through my mind: Could Salem be a dog?", however that was quickly junked for the original black cat. Shipka herself, meanwhile, found the whole situation to be pretty funny. "We keep at a safe distance, it’s like, ‘Actors That Didn’t Get Along in Shows: Kiernan and the Cat Hated Each Other.'”
That's funny, we've got an article JUST LIKE THAT. As mentioned, Netflix's take on the character is obviously markedly different so a talking and deeply sarcastic cat is just too much for the new series - which is their loss, quite frankly.
'The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina' arrives on Netflix on October 25th.