‘Charmed’ Original Series & Reboot Writers Feud After Finale
Fans of the CW shows know all about the multiverse, thanks to the Arrowverse. But by the end of the reboot of Charmed, there was a new multiverse on the network… only it wasn’t one everyone could get behind.
The finale ended with the reboot’s Charmed Ones — Mel (Melonie Diaz), Maggie (Sarah Jeffery), and Kaela (Lucy Barrett) — traveling to the front porch of the Halliwell Manor, home to the original’s Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Paige (Rose McGowan), and Prue (Shannen Doherty). While the reboot’s executive producers had their own ideas for what would have happened next, given the series ended with them walking inside, a writer from the original series disagreed.
“As an original #Charmed writer, I can tell u what happened next: Piper, Phoebe & Paige vanquished the 3 imposters right after they invaded Halliwell Manor. Then @H_Combs blew up the portal to that other universe & quipped: ‘We wish them well,'” Curtis Kheel wrote on Twitter on June 11, referencing Combs’ own words in 2017. (The stars of both Charmed shows have been in disagreement for quite a while about the reboot.)
The reboot’s writers’ official Twitter account quote-tweeted that post with the following response: “Unlike with the OG version of the franchise, we had a strict ‘no assholes’ hiring policy in the writer’s room. We feel mostly sorry for these people, because unlike them we actually like each other and had the BEST time. Onward…”
The reboot’s writers added in a follow-up tweet that they “LOVE both versions, which is why we set out to create a cohesive universe. In our minds there is zero competition in a long line of strong young witches tasked with repeatedly saving the world.”
Then, in a thread on June 12, Kheel explained, “The idea that there are more #CharmedOnes than just Prue/Piper/Phoebe/Paige is retrofit nonsense, meant to legitimize the reboot. I call bulls**t. Yes, there is a multiverse. We saw plenty of alternate universes in the original show so that’s not a new concept at all. However in the Charmed multiverse, Prue/Piper/Phoebe/Paige are ALWAYS the Charmed Ones in every universe. Otherwise, it’s not #Charmed. It’s just another show pretending to be Charmed because Paramount decided they could make some money by slapping that title on it.” Read more from Kheel in the tweets below.
Now at the 11th Hour, with the canceletion ax swinging, they reverse course & decide to embrace the original #Charmed in a desperate attempt to save the #reboot. They’d realized it was a huge mistake to alienate fans of the OG series by ignoring it. Too little, too late.
— Curtis Kheel (@curtiskheel) June 12, 2022
Oh yeah. I forgot about that slight! They thought they invented female empowerment. So I guess the 3 imposters figured our women were so weak, they wouldn’t get their asses kicked when they trespassed into our house. SO WRONG! #Charmed https://t.co/IrKTeuZbs7
— Curtis Kheel (@curtiskheel) June 13, 2022
#Charmed eps where Piper, Phoebe & Paige gave 3 Imposters a supernatural smackdown: “Power of 3 Blondes” (S6) & “Repo Manor” (S8). It totally tracks – that’s what happened.
But don’t blame me. I didn’t send those 3 to the Manor to be vanquished. The reboot’s writers did.
— Curtis Kheel (@curtiskheel) June 13, 2022
However those involved with both shows might feel, at this point, that nod to the original series in the finale isn’t going to be leading anywhere. That was the end of the reboot, following the CW canceling Charmed along with Dynasty (after five seasons), In the Dark (after four seasons), Legacies (after four seasons, marking an end to the Vampire Diaries francise), Roswell, New Mexico (after four seasons), 4400 (after its first season), and Naomi (after its first season) on May 12.
