BEFORE the series was rebooted, Charmed’s original incarnation ran for eight years.
Co-produced by Aaron Spelling, the show was headlined by Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty.
Who was in the original cast of Charmed?
Premiering on October 7, 1998, Charmed’s original cast consisted of:
- Alyssa Milano
- Holly Marie Combs
- Shannen Doherty
- Rose McGowan
- T.W. King
- Dorian Gregory
- Greg Vaughan
- Brian Krause
- Julian McMahon
- Drew Fuller
- Kaley Cuoco
The show lasted for eight seasons and concluded on May 21, 2006.
Alyssa, Shannen, and Holly Marie lead the cast as the three Halliwell sisters.
The Halliwell sisters were magically gifted witches who used their powers to save the world.
Following Shannen’s departure after season 3, Rose McGowan’s character was introduced as the Halliwell witches’ long-lost sister.
Why did Shannen Doherty leave Charmed?
On May 16, 2001, it was announced Shannen was leaving Charmed.
Her departure from the program was amid tension with Alyssa, as well as the rest of the show’s cast and crew.
In a statement, co-producer Aaron Spelling revealed: “We have had a long and prosperous relationship with Shannen and we didn’t want to hold her back from what she wanted to do.
“We hope to see her back on the network in the future.”
While telling her side of the story, Shannen explained to ET: “There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work.
“You know, I’m 30 years old and I don’t have time for drama in my life anymore.
“I’ll miss Holly [Marie Combs] a lot and that’s really the only thing I want to clear up.”
She added: “She is one of my best friends and I love her dearly.
“There were never, ever, ever any problems between the two of us, and we will always be pals.
“I want to work with actors who really, really care and that want to be there every single day.
“I don’t want to work with people who b***h about their job, and complain about it, and say that they hate it or anything else.”
At the time, Alyssa commented to Entertainment Weekly: “I think it’s hard when you put two very different people together.
“I’m very laid-back and passive. I have my Buddha. I come in here and meditate.
“[Shannen’s] got a lot of energy, she’s very headstrong, she wants to get the job done.
“I think it’s unfortunate that she left, and that she needed to bad-mouth everyone involved and the audience.
“She sounds really angry. I just hope I didn’t contribute to that anger.”
Years later, Alyssa recalled to the aforementioned outlet: “You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had.
“I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about.
“And I have some guilt about my part in that. I have respect for her.
“Great actress, loves her family so much, and I just wish I could’ve felt strong enough in who I was to recognize that back then.”
Holly Marie seemingly confirmed Shannen’s recollection on the latter’s Let’s Be Clear podcast.
While not naming the producer in question, the former confessed: “He said, ‘We didn’t mean to, but we’ve been backed into this corner. We’re basically in this position where it’s one or the other.’
“We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.
“It was all behind the scenes. It was all in a trailer…it was nothing that any of our crew noticed, that any of our guest stars ever noticed or noted.
“There’s not a director that wouldn’t work with you again.
“There’s not a crew member that didn’t have a great time working with you.”
Where can I watch the original Charmed?
The original version of Charmed is available to stream via Peacock, Hulu, and Pluto TV.
Cable reruns of the series are also scheduled for several timeslots on TNT.
On October 14, 2018, CBS premiered a reboot of the series.
After four seasons, the program concluded on June 10, 2022.
All seasons of the Charmed reboot are available to watch on Netflix.