Evil empire

Run, don’t walk, away from Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The new show is so demonic that some real-life Satanists have accused it of portraying them in a bad light. The witches in the show worship the devil, celebrate “dark baptism” (you don’t want to know), and engage in cannibalism. Despite all this, Sabrina is only rated TV-14.

The Satanic Temple filed a $50 million federal copyright lawsuit accusing the show of misappropriating the likeness of its goat-headed idol Baphomet. The real-life sculpture that Sabrina allegedly copied “is a unique work of art that should not be misappropriated as a symbol of evil,” the lawsuit states. In a court filing, the Satanists said the show depicts “morally repugnant actions.”

The original Sabrina the Teenage Witch character dates back to 1962, when she first appeared in the Archie comics. Co-creator George Gladir said he based Sabrina on a girl he knew in middle school who was “very active in school affairs.” Readers loved Sabrina, a strong, caring leader among her peers who had a little extra help from her supernatural powers to take on the challenges of adolescence.

“I think we … envisioned it as a one-shot and were surprised when fans asked for more,” Gladir told Oddball Comics in 2007.

Since her ’60s debut, Sabrina has had an animated TV show, a seven-season sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart, and several comic book series. Another fresh set of Sabrina comics is due out this spring, Entertainment Weekly reported Wednesday. One of the artists of the new comics, Veronica Fish, said she was a fan of the Hart sitcom, which was more wholesome by miles than the Netflix Sabrina.

Demons, the devil, and worship of both come in and out of fashion as a topic for movies and TV shows, and the occult is definitely having a moment now. Evil “lords” play significant roles in American Horror Story: Apocalypse on FX and Castle Rock on Hulu, and they are getting frighteningly positive reviews.

TV critics loved the new Sabrina, probably because “gritty reboots” are the latest Hollywood craze. But viewer reviews on Metacritic were more balanced. Even viewers who could stomach the devil worship found fault with the show’s dull acting, stiff dialogue, and dogmatic themes. “All of the Witch characters are monsters with no grey edges,” wrote someone going by the name Venomstryke. “Worst of all? It’s just not any fun.”

Dan Crenshaw (left) and Pete Davidson on Saturday Night Live YouTube/Saturday Night Live

A lesson in manners

U.S. Rep.–elect Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson proved last week the country hasn’t entirely lost its sense of humor. The two appeared together on SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment to address a controversy that started the week before when Davidson made fun of Crenshaw’s eye patch. Crenshaw, a Navy SEAL veteran, lost his eye to an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan in 2012.

Davidson’s distasteful joke provoked instant internet outrage. Last weekend, Davidson apologized to Crenshaw on the air and gave Crenshaw a chance to get in a few harmless jabs of his own (though the one about Davidson’s ex-fiancée, pop star Ariana Grande, probably stung a little).

In a Washington Post column, Crenshaw made it clear he accepted Davidson’s apology but did not demand it in the first place. He criticized the “outrage culture” that has made American political discourse so toxic. “It seems like every not-so-carefully-worded public misstep must be punished to the fullest extent, replete with soapbox lectures and demands for apologies,” he wrote. “I have been literally shot at before, and I wasn’t outraged. Why start now?” —L.L.

Dan Crenshaw (left) and Pete Davidson on Saturday Night Live YouTube/Saturday Night Live

The spark that got a fire going

Kurt Kaiser—composer of modern church music staples, including “Pass It On” and “Oh How He Loves You and Me”—died this week. He was 83. Kaiser wrote more than 300 copyrighted songs and arranged and produced numerous albums. He worked for years for Word Inc., a Christian music company in Waco, Texas, where he also directed the Baylor Religious Hour Choir from 1965 to 1970 and helped found DaySpring Baptist Church. Kaiser earned an honorary doctor of humane letters from Baylor University in Waco, too.

“For more than five decades, Kurt Kaiser enriched the world with a Christian message of hope as a pioneer of modern church music,” Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone said. —L.L.

More shiplap coming

Speaking of Waco, Chip and Joanna Gaines announced last week they are starting their own TV network in partnership with Discovery. The couple, stars of HGTV’s smash hit Fixer Upper, took some time off from TV and had their fifth child a few months ago. They told the world about their planned comeback during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. “We could not be more excited,” Chip Gaines said. Same here, Chip. Same here. —L.L.

To infinity …

As if news of the Gaineses’ return wasn’t exciting enough, Disney released a teaser trailer (see below) for Toy Story 4 this week that nearly broke the internet with more than 10 million views. —L.L.