Future Charmed reboot watchers, be warned: Don’t hold your breath for a cameo from the original core cast. The erstwhile Halliwell sisters Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs have all expressed their issues with the reboot, which is developed by Jessica O’Toole, Amy Rardin, and Jane The Virgin’s Jennie Snyder Urman. When the reboot of Constance M. Burge’s supernatural family drama was first announced, Combs scoffed at the “fierce, funny, feminist” angle in the promotional copy. She also deemed the reboot a naked attempt at capitalizing on the good will of the original.
Doherty’s initial response also took exception to the notion of the reboot somehow being a more feminist take on the original concept, but she also seemed willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. Rose McGowan, who joined the cast as a fourth Halliwell sister after Doherty’s departure, originally called the idea “lame,” but later gave it her blessing.
Milano posted a fairly nostalgic tweet after hearing the news that the CW was moving forward with this reboot, which features a Latinx-led cast. But in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Milano echoes Combs’ sentiments that the reboot producers could have at least consulted the original cast: “I wish that they would have come to us and we would have been involved since the beginning.” Still, in a testament to the bond she established with her former castmates, Milano also hopes that “[the reboot] reaches the newer generation and impacts that generation the way ours was able to do for its generation.”
The CW president Mark Pedowitz addressed the backlash from the original cast at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, encouraging them and any other doubters to first check out the show, which debuts October 14. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Pedowitz told reporters. “I have great respect for them as actors. But give the show a shot. It’s different.” There are no currently no plans to involve any of the original cast members, though it doesn’t sound like an invitation would be all that welcome anyway.