Charmed originally aired from 1998 to 2006 and starred Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty, who was later replaced with Rose McGowan. In 2018, CW announced they were bringing the series back with a “fierce, funny, feminist” reboot. The new series promised to take on diversity, #MeToo and topical subjects like bullying, all while being super stylish and terribly clever. Oh, and don’t forget witches, which is always the coolest part of any story *ahem*. Despite controversial diversity casting choices and the quarantine shutdown, the issue that has plagued the new show has been: the former cast. From the outset, each of the original Halliwell/Matthews sisters has been guarded in talking about the new show.
Alyssa gave an honest response to the reboot announcement that wasn’t demeaning, but wasn’t exactly supportive either:
The thing about them doing a #charmed reboot is… it just… it feels like yesterday. It feels too close.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 25, 2013
Later, Alyssa gave an interview to Parade in which she was more charitable and wished them well. She was dismayed that no one from the original series had been consulted or asked to contribute.
Shannen took the most diplomatic approach, first tweeting:
So curious… if it was not a reboot and just was a show about sisters and family dynamics with super natural powers…. thoughts?
— Shannen Doherty (@DohertyShannen) January 27, 2018
Following this, Shannen spent some time responding to fans and defending the new show in her replies with a general ‘we should give it a chance’ vibe. She sounded genuinely intrigued by what they might do with the new content. Her only objection was in the CW’s description, they inferred the original show was not feminist, which was a valid critique:
Yep. You nailed it. Their wording is terrible and a bit offensive. But, everyone makes mistakes. Perhaps with the backlash they will be more thoughtful in future.
— Shannen Doherty (@DohertyShannen) January 27, 2018
Rose, as always, took the high road, saying , “they are really running out of ideas in Hollywood” and added:
lame lame lame lamertons
— Rose McGowan (@rosemcgowan) October 25, 2013
But it was Holly who seemed the most put out by the show’s reboot. Although her very first response was to wish the new cast well, she followed it up ten minutes later with this:
Here’s the thing. Until you ask us to rewrite it like Brad Kern did weekly don’t even think of capitalizing on our hard work. Charmed belongs to the 4 of us, our vast amount of writers, crews and predominantly the fans. FYI you will not fool them by owning a title/stamp. So bye.
— Holly Marie Combs Ryan (@H_Combs) January 26, 2018
Holly also took exception to the CW touting a “feminist” storyline as the focus of the reboot:
Guess we forgot to do that the first go around. Hmph. https://t.co/kDXLBefuSG
— Holly Marie Combs Ryan (@H_Combs) January 26, 2018
I get Holly’s point. As Shannen pointed out, the wording is borderline offensive and I don’t have an issue with Holly calling CW out for this. But she didn’t stop there. Even months later, she was back on Twitter and talking to outlets:
If you’re gonna quote me then actually quote me @yahoo. pic.twitter.com/hQ35cXTg40
— Holly Marie Combs Ryan (@H_Combs) May 22, 2018
Ageism would be a great fold in to a show that was supposedly trying to tackle feminist issues. But Holly keeps taking these potshots.
Cut to this past weekend. Holly and Rose got together and filmed themselves in which they just happen to insult the new Charmed series. As far as attacks go, it was fairly mild, but it was also petty and unnecessary. You can watch their video below as it is embedded in Sarah Jefferey’s tweet. Sarah is one of the three sisters of the new cast who has been at the receiving end of all these tirades and, like the rest of the cast and crew of the reboot, has been relatively quiet about the former casts’ comments. But this video going wide was the tipping point for Sarah, who responded on Twitter:
2/2 I truly hope they find happiness elsewhere, and not in the form of putting down other WOC. I would be embarrassed to behave this way. Peace and love to y’all. https://t.co/MuyZCZjbCp
— Sarah Jeffery (@sarahjeffery) October 13, 2020
I mean, I get where Sarah is coming from. Filming yourselves on a couch bitching about the reboot that you haven’t even watched does come off as bitter. We all fall prey to bitter every once in a while – in the privacy of our own homes. But posting it for everyone to see is a little sad. I find the original arguments the OG cast made valid, but their latest complaints seem personal, not professional. And I’m bummed because I really liked Holly before this.
But Rose and Holly got what they wanted, their fans were all over the thread telling Sarah she was wrong, not only for posting a response but for making the reboot in the first place.
At least we can all agree that Shannen still rocks:
In other news, my dad met the lovely @DohertyShannen on set once whilst standing in. He approached her saying his daughter was a new Charmed one (pre-covid!). He told me she was so kind, thrilled for us, and excited to take a picture. She sent her love. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/io3DhalZZY
— Sarah Jeffery (@sarahjeffery) October 13, 2020
Photo credit: Instagram, Twitter and WENN/Avalon
The original Charmed aired from 1998 til 2006
And I remember reading once that it was the longest-running show (after The Golden Girls) on tv with all female leads. The original cast shouldn’t be commenting in the show itself, but the marketing by CW. Good on Shannen for how she’s responded. I think dealing with her illness has changed her and made her more compassionate. When facing one’s own imminent death or that of a loved one, most people get a level of clarity about what’s important in life and stop caring about b.s. I’ll definitely watch the reboot because I loved the original, even though it was often super cheesy with bad effects and problematic in other ways (white woman feminism!). What spoke to me was the bond between the women and their character development over the years, even if it meant that their characters became more…pathetic in some cases. (I’m looking at you, Piper!) Plus—witchcraft!
Also, side note, Sarah calls their (Holly and Rose) behavior sad and pathetic, not the actual cast members. I mean, not that much better, but slightly different.
I LOVED the original Charmed. I remember when it first premiered and I could not wait. Every week, I was excited about a new episode and then years later, even though they’d clearly jumped the shark (and started trying to do their own version of bringing on younger cast members (all blonde white girls) to share the legacy) I made sure to tune in for the series finale while I was on vacation, in Hawaii. I was/am a serious Charmed fan.
And I am SO disappointed by the original cast members’ behavior over this. Rose McGowan clearly has some sort of personality disorder so I’m not very surprised by her. But this is such stereotypical white woman bullying behavior from all of them. It’s disgusting and it IS pathetic. I know that they had become executive producers and felt a lot of ownership (Holly even met her husband on the show – he was a camerman or something), but I really wish someone would take the time to break down just how textbook Obnoxious White Woman Asshole this is.
I hope Black Twitter gets them good.
I’m sorry, could you point me to the “bullying behavior” from Shannen and Alyssa? Seems to me the only brats here were Rose and Holly Marie.
Shannon has been very gracious and Allyssa is maybe hurt, but she hasn’t been bullying anyone. I think Holly, who has surprised me and Rose are the ones behaving badly, it’s so important that we make that distinction so as not to dilute the real issues here.
Additionally, i LOVED the original Charmed. Watched it for years.
Tried watching the new version, it didn’t grab me. But, i’m 48. Not sure i’m its target audience.
watched the reboot and couldn’t get half way through season 2. the storylines are boring and not feminist at all…they all cry over boys…
Not true. The middle one cries over girls. Incidentally, boys was all Phoebe ever cared about.
The reboot writing is awful. I think I’m appreciating the original with some nostalgically biased lenses, but even if the OG was bad this reboot is no better.
Watched the new one. It’s painful…was so hopeful, but it’s rubbish. The original Charmed was fresh, new, innovative and female inspiring.
No, I don’t get why Holly or Rose responded the way they have. Holly continues to pour it on. They are too old to act this way. It’s pathetic.
I think it’s because it’s one of their largest bodies of work, so of course, they are protective of it and its legacy.
It also feels WAY too soon to be doing a “reboot” of a show that likely still had TV marathons. Give shows time to die before taking the same idea and hiring new talent. Better yet, CREATE A NEW SHOW.
I can understand all that, but there are more professional and adult ways of expressing that, rather then putting videos of yourself saying “I haven’t seen it, but it SUCKS!” online.
@Lemons-There is nothing new out there under the sun. Everything is a rehash. Sorry if that show was their biggest legacy but no need to act like entitled Karen’s about it.
Also, Holly is now peddling MLMs, you can’t get much lower than that. I think Sarah has it right!
Also side note, but the embedded tweets were kinda off for me, like there’s some missing and I actually had to google Sarah’s comments as I didn’t see them above. Could be my browser glitching.
Charmed was a feminist show. It is offensive to suggest it wasn’t.
Exactly !!!
Which didn’t include any women who weren’t white in any type of meaningful role.
So, who exactly was that “feminism” geared towards?
@Rebecca, white women. That is what is meant by “feminism” in this country. To heck with everyone other woman out there.
When you cast an all white show, skip me with the feminism claims!
Charmed was cheesy and the special effects were terrible and the acting was awful.
A reboot could only improve.
It seems like the original cast had more issue about the PR for the new show, rather than the new cast. I think Sarah should have just kept quiet. No one knows who she is yet, she shouldn’t want to be know for getting in a petty twitter fight.
I agree with you that Jeffrey shouldn’t have spent energy on this, but I kind of agree with her point. HMC and RM look really bad to me here: the juvenile “I didn’t watch it, but it sucks” and attack of the show just reversed the better, more nuanced discussions about ageism and lack of originality at the network level they started with. Also, it seems odd to me that the OG charmed actors aren’t more careful about not pitting themselves against up-and-coming actors because it just seems *so* uncharitable. Like, your fans can make room in their hearts for new characters and stories — there isn’t a finite supply of fandom out there. Everyone’s real beef is with a crappy marketing team (though I do think there are valid discussions to be had about intersectionality in the old production vs. the new) and possibly a hostile network. I always heard that Shannen Doherty was “difficult” and disliked by cast, crew, and network, but who knows what that really means. I never heard that the CW was awful to the remaining cast after RM joined, but someone mentioned that being an issue above. If that’s the case, talk about *that*, not the new cast or a technical crew that had nothing to do with decisions made by producers with the network.
I always took Shannen being “difficult” as “woman with opinions so she needs to be shut down.” Later stories have surfaced that was the case, and it was Alyssa with the attitude. If she was so difficult, why would Aaron Spelling create a new show where she was the featured player?
Bad look for Holly Marie Combs for sure.
I think you’re probably right, Juniper.
Why does the POC need to keep quiet? Surely, she has the right to respond.
It’s been a few years now that this has been going on. Like since it was first announced that this show was being rebooted after 10 years with a POC lead cast. I say this as someone who enjoyed most of the OG show and likes elements of the reboot.
At what point is Sarah (or any other cast member of the reboot) supposed to speak up regarding some members from the original cast being petty & derogatory towards the show she’s on? And Sarah wasn’t as nasty about it as she could’ve been, AFAIC. Is it only White women who get to have a voice?
Oh good god. I think her getting in a twitter fight during the early stages of her career is stupid, yes. Especially since people were already ripping the original cast apart from their tweets. I’m not trying to SiLeNcE woc. I just think not saying anything IN THIS INSTANCE makes her look better than getting tangled in a petty, d-list celebrity fight.
Thoughts:
1. I completely get why the OG stars (except maybe Shannen, cause she left it behind mid series and has bigger things to deal with, like her health) are feeling put out that they were ignored for this. There’s definitely ageism involved and they don’t really have anything better to do career-wise, do they? So of course they want a piece of the reboot. They spent many years on the original.
2. Despite point number 1, it is definitely sad and pathetic that the OG stars are coming off as unable to move on. And it’s hecka gross that this is a POC reboot and these white ladies seem to be unable to respect the significance of that.
3. When Shannen Doherty is the most welcoming/reasonable one… it is peak 2020
Yeah, I think their problem is that they aren’t the ones being cast, but they’re completely skipping over the point, which is the diverse casting. The gracious thing would be to talk about how much is still left to explore in the Charmed universe and that you hope the new cast will be able to add new layers to it, or something like that.
Re: point 3 — lol.
Tealily- well, it would’ve/could’ve been interesting if the OG sisters were there with the new POC ones. Like, the new sisters discover the others and work with them. Some interesting themes re: ageism, white feminism, POC allyship, and white saviorism could have been addressed.
But would the OG cast like that? IDK.
Yeah, that could have been really interesting! But if this is their reaction regardless, it makes me think that probably never would have worked.
I think I read that Shannen was going to guest star in an ep but then her cancer returned. As for the others, I believe Charmed v2 totally would have been up for having all the OG main castmembers come on for an ep or two if they hadn’t been prats about the reboot news (Alyssa less so but definitely Rose & Holly).
I don’t understand why it has to be “old” vs. “new”? I watched the original show and really enjoyed it, and I watch the new show and really enjoy that too. It’s nice to see that the reboot has taken the theme of the original and branched off in a slightly different, but still familiar feeling, manner that does not denigrate the original in any way. The new sisters are great and the old ones are too.
The (television) universe is big enough for us to enjoy more than one set of Charmed Ones.
Yes!
I was a big fan of the original. Too tell you the truth, it felt strange and redundant that they were rebooting it. But I loved the reboot!
Loved the original. Tried watching the reboot but don’t particularly care for it. Came off very staid and try hard. And this is despite me being a WOC. **shrugs
Honestly Combs, Doherty, Milano, and McGowan all have valid complaints. I’m not a huge fan of remakes to begin with, but with the network upfront framing this one as somehow better/correcting things the original did wrong is pretty insulting to the work that those women (and all other crew/actors) did.
The network is entirely responsible for turning this into a competition.
Agreed!
Yeah, it’s ridiculous that they would be trying to promote it this way. Surely part of the point of “rebooting” something instead of making a new show is that you want to try to carry over some of the original fan base. Why alienate those people from the outset?
What if Hollywood weren’t so horrible to women and people of color? What if there were opportunities galore for women of any age, size or color? Would we see this kind of snipping…evaporated?
That’d be my kind of #Charmed.
Ooo @SpankFD I like that take!
THIS makes me miss Television Without Pity. The Charmed boards were some of my favorites…
TWOP was the BEST. So sad its gone.
The original cast’s attitude is so confusing to me. In entertainment, the same stories get told ALL OF THE TIME. You don’t own it simply because you were in the original cast. In theater, some of the same stories have been told for hundreds of years. Can you imagine if the 1st actor for Juliet said that no one could play the role after him? Their comments sound so petty to me.
Part of the magic of retelling the same stories is that you get to see another persons take on the story, and it changes the impact. It isn’t threatening to secure people. There can be a million kinds of “great”.
Yes, it gives the story staying power and I would think funnel new audiences back to the original show. It’s a bad attitude from the original cast, but instigated by the way the network is promoting it.
It’s definitely weird that the original cast is so bothered by the reboot, but I have to agree that the lack of originality in movies and TV is getting OLD. It’s actually been old for a while now.
I think the recently popularity of the show Friends with a younger generation serves as proof that people can easily just watch the original shows and still love them. I just saw that The Fresh Prince of Bel Air got remade with a dramatic twist, and I love that idea. I feel like if you’re going to redo a show, at least add some originality to it.
Friends has been “remade” tons of times. It’s just a generic enough concept that they can retitle it as something else. And all it’s successors have been wildly popular, so people are looking for reboots of their comfort shows. How I Met Your Mother, New Girl and Big Bang Theory are just “Friends With A Twist”. Charmed is a bit more of a specific plot, so they call it a reboot or else it would get called a rip off.
I loved the original!
And I agree i would prefer a new series not a reboot.
The reboot is awful, awful, awfulllll!!! It was almost canceled after the 1st season, but luckily, they needed a show to help fill Sunday’s slot! No wonder it’s the CW lowest rated seriers airing right now!
But how ironic that the worse part of the original (Rose) is calling the show bad! Like girl, you were such a downgrade from Shannon!! The best Shannon replacement was Drew Fuller as Chris in S6, and then the show went to the trash 🗑 after he left!
It’s not the lowest rated show on the network though. The fact OG fans keep spouting this is telling though.
It totally isn’t the lowest rated show. Katy Keene I think had ben the lowest rated. Nancy Drew is low rated too. My Crazy Ex Girlfriend, a show I adored, was also very low rated esp its final 2 years but saved by critical acclaim.
I’ve seen some interesting spins on the Charmed reboot being “so bad.” My fave unsubstantiated take on this balderdash is something I read on twitter yesterday stating that “Netflix removed the OG show because more ppl were watching it than the reboot & the cw network was mad about that.” 🥴
I had my pitchfork out until I got to Sarah’s last Tweet in which she praised the one and only Brenda Walsh. Crisis averted. No one comes for Brenda Walsh.
At the beginning it seemed like valid criticism of a show they participated in years ago but now it seems like desperation to stay in the spotlight attached to the reboot. It’s no wonder they weren’t asked to participate in the new show-who’d want them to if these are the attitudes they’re bringing?
This – their points about the network and the marketing are very valid, especially as it tries to diminish the original show. But really, that would have been enough to say, and then move on with their lives.
Alyssa and Shannen seem to have done that. Holly and Rose look like immature mean girls.
Come on, original Charmed Ones. Don’t destroy my memories by turning into total Karen’s (too late, Rose).
White feminism is a trip.
For real. Every time I think it can’t again smack my gob, there it goes…
YUP.
I mean, the original Charmed *was* a pretty feminist show for the time. Does it hold up? I don’t know, I haven’t watched it in a long time. But at the time, that show was incredibly feminist. I mean, Piper’s children took *her* last name and Leo was completely supportive of that. The women were strong leads with their own storylines and Leo was a great male character who was completely supportive of his wife’s ambitions. Sure the original was pretty campy and not “dark” (I don’t know if this new Charmed took that route but I know the new Sabrina show did when the original was a comedy), but that’s not a bad thing. I think it’s rude not only to the cast and crew but the fans of the original show to say that the new one is an updated “fierce, funny, and feminist” version when the original literally was “fierce, funny, and feminist”.
Yeah, I think the producers of the new show inadvertently threw down the gauntlet when the description of the new show implied that the old show lacked those qualities.
the OG cast was hated on by the network during their run ,so I’m thinking there is resentment that is misplaced. Og charmed is way more feminist than the new version tbh.
Rose was never anything. People raised her and praised her,but she’s always been a horrible person.
And she STILL has not addressed her glowing comments about convicted pedophile Victor Salva.
Lighten up Francis.
I absolutely loved OG charmed and I was so happy when it was rebooted. Except that The new charmed sucks really bad. The first season was ok but the new season is so so bad. I feel like Holly and Rose were coming at the writers and scenarists and they are absolutely right. I hope the new writers take that criticisms and transform it into something productive because I don’t see that new Charmed lasting that long.
Then they need to make that extremely crystal clear because right now they look like two middle aged white women bullying Women of Color and it’s not a good look and this is not the time.
Charmed was a feminist show, I find it odd that they are labelling the reboot as such when the original achieved it over 20 years ago.
I understand why the original cast members have opinions and are voicing them. What I don’t get is why the new cast says the old one is bashing WOC when that had nothing to do with what the OGs said. This bugs me because it’s like the new cast is trying to turn the discussion into one of race when that has nothing to do with it.
I think the new cast needs to show some respect to the trail blazing women who made this show happen in the late 90’s. The new cast come across as entitled and snobby to me. They are nobodies right now and spouting off as if they are big stars. Have a seat, kids.
It’s too soon for a reboot, I liked the original. I really hope the new one doesn’t suck. There will be some crow to be eaten if it’s a flop…
Imagine telling WoC that they shouldn’t defend themselves and their work against three years of attacks from more established actors and should instead be grateful to those hateful women.
It wasn’t too “soon”. You still have the originals. Watch that. This could have been a great time for the others to mention the show was now on Peacock.
Also, the Roswell cast was not only graceful, but one actor appeared on the reboot show for several episodes and another directed two episodes. You never see the various James Bond, Batman, Spiderman, etc actors shitting on the newer actors or their movies.
Yet, the reboot actors should just accept this brand of “feminism”?
Try again.
Thanks for calling out the white fragility & violence, Ma’am. 👍🏾
Exactly. There’s something off-putting in telling WOC they need to respect the older White women constantly deriding them / their work / their show. We’re on year 3 of this situation.
Not to mention, the original is streaming for free on Peacock plus TNT has hours of eps every weekday morning who insist upon it and don’t like the reboot.
As a WoC, even i can see that there was no attack on the reboot, because the new trio are WoC. To say it was, is reaching, and trying to change the narrative to obtain a victim status that isn’t warranted.
The original Charmed isn’t streaming anywhere right now without an additional fee. I’d be salty about that too bc it’s messing with their income. However, them shitting on the new show is tacky as hell. They definitely could have aired their grievances about that and their other issues without going after the people working hard to make this new show.
It’s streaming on Peacock for free,
Before the new show started someone from the cast either tweeted, or liked someone else’s tweet, that said that the original cast was too old to be on TV – not too old for these roles, but too old to be on TV at all. I think there were some other comments that were directly from the new cast, not just the marketing, so I kind of get the old being a little salty.
The problem is that with most reboots the original cast is involved in some way but in this case they have been kicked to the curb. That must hurt. Middle aged female actors have enough trouble getting work. Imagine being part of a successful show and then a few years later they bring it back but don’t want any input from you?
I liked the OG series and was looking forward to watching the reboot. Granted, season 1 wasn’t great, but I really like the casting and character changes they established.
I’m midway through watching season 2 and they changed even more now, so the show has found more of an own identity and has moved further away from the OG series. It’s much better now and I’m enjoying it.
I can’t stand Rose (nor Paige for that matter, but wasn’t she also attacking Alyssa just recently as well??), but I’m disappointed by Holly’s remarks, so very much unnecessary and envious.
I think the pandemic just takes a toll on everybody…
I was OBSESSED with Charmed and I rewatched it a couple years ago and, aside from the terrible terrible effects in the first few seasons, it was a sweet show. And feminist as well. Their all-white casting shouldn’t be brought up now because that was another time IMO.
HMC and Rose being idiots and salty is kinda sad lol but I reiterate : the pandemic is pulling a number on people. Neither of them gets much TV work these days (I always loved Piper though – she was my favorite after Prue left as I was obsessed with SDs character and was devastated when she left), so that and I’ll excuse her for being influenced by RMcG 🤣🤣 that woman must have venom in her tongue 24/7 but yeah I know that’s just a lame excuse. We’re adults it was unnecessary. Be petty at home and no phones allowed please.
The new stars should just refrain from commenting at all I think. It’s not a good look when you stoop lower than the attacker.
I didn’t watch the show because a) I love the OG too much, b) I saw the trailer and it looked ridiculous.
I’ll give it a go. Maybe.
It should have been brought up then and now. There was no excuse for an all white cast then or now. The only regular character of color was Darryl and the writing for his was not good. As someone who lived in the Bay Area for almost 20 years and during the time that show aired, the Bay Area isn’t mostly white like this show tried to sell (and that it was filmed in L.A. matters little since I grew up there and it’s not nearly all white either).
Thank you for posting this, I keep seeing there is drama about this on Twitter but couldn’t figure out what was going on. I didn’t watch the original or even know the reboot was in season 3.
I think when the original actresses were offended by the feminist description they were right to say it. But for them to keep posting nasty stuff just makes them look sad.
This would be like Michael Keaton yelling about all these Batman reboots. They don’t own the role or the show, so they need to get over it and stop acting so entitled.
Who knew Shannen would turn out to be the nice one. It bugs me how Holly and Rose are throwing shade at this show full of WOC. Do I think they should have reboot the show? No. But I feel that way about ALL reboots. But if they were going to at LEAST they did it and cast WOC. And for these white actresses to not get why that’s important or the optics of bashing it is just gross. I’m not surprised by Rose but Holly’s behavior is disappointing. And to essentially sic her fans on this girl for standing up for herself? Really sh*tty.
100% agree !
I have a big issue with things that render actresses as disposible quantities, that’s one thing.
I also think the CW has been tacky as hell wrt to OG Charmed and the original actresses. We get it, they probably didn’t want to negotiate commensurate pay or deal with them. Just be honest, though. The OG actresses are understandably salty given that they helped make the show a success despite the network sabotaging it multiple times during it’s running.
First of all nobody in the fandom ever wanted or asked for a reboot. From the get go they wanted and asked for a spin off with the Charmed Ones kids, that the original cast could appear in if they wanted. The network wouldn’t have it and made excuse after excuse.
They floated the idea of a reboot in the press/social media twice and both time the fans were universal in not wanting one but asking for a next generation continuation. Then the third time they insisted it wasn’t a reboot they were filming but a Melinda Warren spin-off… only then to reveal this new reboot show. Then they not only wanted to act disingenuous about the backlash but say it was beccause the fans couldn’t deal with diversity? How? Piper would have had a latina daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
They could have made this show about the Phoenix coven of assassin witches, they didn’t have to go so hard to overwrite the original show they even set it in the nineties.
Then they trieed to undermine the original actresses work by saying the new one was better and more feminist.
It’s utterly tacky when they can keep a show like Supernatural with the same main 4-5 male cast members (but all the female and POC characters are disposable) circling the drain for 15 years.
It’s rude as hell to coat off on the original show or actresses that are affording you the opportunity to star in a reboot. I think the original cast were within the rights to sound off. They made their show a hit and have been dunked on from all sides even when they were airing yet were still popular.
The OG actresses even floated a spinoff before all of this and the network made non-stop excuses, like they did when fans asked for a Charmed Sons spin-off.
Jaffrey is probably only speaking on it again because the reboot’s ratings are awful and sparking fake controversy with the original actresses generates headlines. I’m sure the CW will renew it for another season. Maybe then the show can stop trying to create struggle controversy, or og fanbase gaslighting and rest on their “own” merits.
The new show also lost me further when they lied about the actresses being all latina, and when they had their white guy whitelighter tie up the POC sisters to “teach” them how to use their powers but wanted to insist they were somehow more “feminist”. As if the could ever have happened in the original.
The should have just not called it Charmed, problem solved. They need to start creating new content for the new gens and leave old IPs alone.
How is Sarah sparking the controversy when it’s Holly, who capitalizes on her (leftover) fame to peddle a dangerous MLM product, and Rose making drunken videos about dissing Sarah’s show? The OGs don’t come off looking any good from this. Maybe Shannen only.
I didn’t say Sarah was sparking anything, if it came across that way what I meant was: bringing up the “controversy” when new Charmed is heading into it’s third season is the only thing that seems to be able to generate any interest or headlines for said show.
If they think the OG cast are trolling them, stop giving them air and mentioning them. Three years into the new show it should be able to promote itself without that drama. Or that’s all the new show is ever going to be about/remembered for.
This is what sucks about this situation. Again, we have women being pitted against each other in different dynamics. Older women vs younger women, POC women vs white women, etc. It’s total BS and not fair to anyone involved. I’d bet cash money that the advertising campaign was set up by white guys who know nothing about feminism except as a buzzword. It sounds like the original cast was upset over the ad campaign, rather than the reboot. The lashing out, probably due to Covid confinement, didn’t help matters.
It doesn’t help that Rose is a problematic TERF.
Do I think Charmed was feminist for its time? Sort of. I think it was feminism through a male gaze, an “acceptable” form of feminism.
This isn’t the first reboot of one of Shannon’s shows — they did a 90210 with a new cast in the 2010s. That may explain why she’s handling it better. When they rebooted 90210, she and other cast members were invited back, which was a nice touch, and the marketing leaned on the OG series rather than disparage it.
Yea, CW isn’t doing themselves any favours by promoting a show that people loved by critiquing the original.
I have a soft spot for Charmed. I read the novels as a kid. And I re-watched the entire series on my maternity leave last summer. I probably won’t watch the reboot.
They need to chill on the remake, but it is very weird that the CW would kind of frame it in a way that seems…vaguely alienating to the original fanbase? Feels like a missed opportunity to link one generation to the next. Generally, I like checking out reboots, so I’d be surprised if a show I liked did that.
I get why the younger actresses feel upset, though. That’s their work they’re putting down, so it’s hypocritical to go after them when the network is the issue.
As a grown woman, I don’t care if I come off looking “sad” or “pathetic”- especially to some tide pod eating millennial lol. I’m old and I’ll say what I want to say.
Millennials are in there 30’s to 40 years old. They aren’t eating Tide Pods hun. That’s Gen Z.
The writers totally botched this reboot, to be honest. I’m thrilled there are PoC on it, but it is nothing like the original. I don’t even think it should be called Charmed, honestly. I’ve tried to watch it and it is a hot mess. There’s just…no connection for me. What I loved about the original Charmed for me, was there was connections and metaphors to issues I could relate to. The new Charmed is a bit too soapy and juvenile for me. I do wish they had somehow had the original cast members come on, even if it wasn’t for the whole series, to do like a continuation, reboot. They could have gone the great great grandparents route or something with their grandkids having kids who were PoC? Or having a black women of colour be the Leo or something like that and more PoC witches focus etc etc. My point is I think they could have found a way to find representation for people without completely shunning the old cast.