Caroline Rhea on Being Absent From Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s Final Season, ‘Phineas and Ferb’ Return (Exclusive)

Caroline Rhea agrees that Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda’s absences during the final season of Sabrina the Teenage Witch were all kinds of “weird.”

“That was when I went to do my talk show,” Rhea, 61, exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing the upcoming season of Phineas and Ferb. “So I know it was weird. And sometimes when I watch season 7, I’m like, ‘Well, this is very weird that we’re not there.’ It’s so messed up because my [whole stand-up routine] is called ‘I Identify as a Witch!’”

Rhea starred on the first six seasons of Sabrina as Aunt Hilda alongside Beth Broderick’s Aunt Zelda. The quirky duo were tasked with raising titular character Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) while teaching her to be a witch in the mortal world. The series famously went through a multitude of cast changes throughout its run, and both aunts were notably absent from the entirety of the seventh and final season. (Rhea only appeared for a cameo in the series finale.)

Hilda may have had limited screen time in the final season, but Rhea looks back on Sabrina with nothing but fondness — “I genuinely think Melissa’s my niece. I think Beth is my sister. I think the cat [Salem actually] talks,” she quipped to Us — and has recently even started to watch old episodes with her 16-year-old daughter, Ava.

“My daughter and her best friend and I, we all went to Hawaii and Sabrina was on and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so watching it!’” Rhea recalled before reminiscing on some of her less flattering moments as Hilda. “Let me tell you, I did a lot for the vest. There was a lot of vest-wearing, terrible haircuts and, maybe, the wrong thyroid medication.”

Rhea added that she’s impressed with how well Sabrina has held up. “I look at Aunt Hilda and the whole show and I go, ‘Well, they seem like fun,’” she told Us. 

While a reboot of this version of Sabrina has yet to come to fruition — Rhea and Broderick did make a cameo on Netflix’s darker interaction, CAOS, in 2020 — Rhea is reprising her role as Linda Flynn-Fletcher on the new season of Phineas and Ferb. The Disney Channel series first aired between 2007 and 2017 before announcing last year that it would return with a new season this June.

Being a part of two timeless programs that have continued to resonate for decades is something Rhea hasn’t taken lightly.

“It feels like the biggest blessing. I get greeted with so much kindness in the world because I was very lucky to be on shows that evoke happiness and innocence,” she told Us. “It was a very innocent time for both of them. And then I get to be, like, a mother figure.”

As for getting to return to Phineas and Ferb, Rhea said she’s excited that some of the writer’s room for the new season are fans who watched the series growing up.

“It’s always cheeky and clever,” she said, pointing out how layered the series is. “You can watch those episodes 10 times and get 10 different jokes,” she said. “Visually it’s funny, the writing is so funny. [And] I love the characters.”

Rhea is also excited about the opportunity to reconnect with the original cast. That includes Ashley Tisdale as her onscreen daughter, Candace Fletcher, with whom she’s been able to form an even deeper bond now that Rhea is a mom herself.

“[Returning has felt] so different as an actress because 16 years ago I didn’t know how to relate to [Ashley] as my child,” she told Us. “And I love Ashley. I’ve known her since she was 18. So now it’s more fun for me. I just substitute in my own daughter [for Candace]. It’s so crazy. They’re both 16!”

Phineas & Ferb’s new season premieres on Disney Channel Thursday, June 5, at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to streams next day on Disney+.