More than 20 years after Shannen Doherty’s exit from Charmed, co-star Holly Marie Combs is opening up about the cast shakeup and claims that fellow co-star Alyssa Milano factored into Doherty’s departure. During a recent appearance on Doherty’s Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty podcast, Combs, who played Piper Halliwell in the series, said that she was told by series producer Jonathan Levin at the time that Milano had given them an ultimatum — her or Doherty.
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“‘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,’” Combs recalls Levin saying at the time (via TVLine). “‘We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us or a hostile workplace environment.’”
Doherty exited the series in its Season 3 finale in 2001 with producers killing of Doherty’s character, Prue Halliwell. Rose McGowan later joined the series as Paige to complete the trio of “Charmed Ones” so that the series could continue. Doherty explained in the podcast that she was surprised by the accusations from Milano as she couldn’t recall any issues on set with the actress and said that, even today, she remains at a loss.
“I lived a year after that sort of replaying everything in my brain and really trying to find those moments,” Doherty said. “I don’t ever remember being mean to her on set.”
She continued, “I remember an episode I directed where she did something on the Christmas break and they asked me to work around some things with her and I had no problem with it. I couldn’t have been more kind and understanding.”
Doherty also said that, in retrospect, she wishes she had sued over the situation, noting that the rumors about her exit from Charmed followed her.
“I wish I had been older and wiser, because I definitely would have sued, and I would have been honest about the situation,” Doherty said. “The rumors followed me regardless. The rumors were there and I wasn’t getting paid. It makes you look crazy when you leave a hit show only after three seasons.
What is Charmed About?
The original Charmed originally aired on The WB from October 7, 1998, through May 21, 2006, for eight seasons. The series initially centers on the three Halliwell sisters Prue (Doherty), Piper (Combs), and Phoebe (Milano) who discover the family’s Book of Shadows and discover that they are the most powerful witches ever known who are destined to protect not just innocents, but the world, from evil. After Doherty’s departure at the end of Season 3, McGowan joined the cast as Paige Matthews, a long-lost half-sister who takes Prue’s place in the “Power of Three” from Season 4 to the series’ conclusion. The series was a strong performer for The WB and quickly gained a devoted following. The series stands as the second-longest drama run by The WB with 178 episodes — second only to 7th Heaven.
The CW Rebooted Charmed in 2018
In 2018, The CW debuted a reboot of Charmed. Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin, the reboot — which was met with backlash from fans of the original Charmed — had a similar premise and followed sisters Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz) and Maggie (Sarah Jeffrey) who discover that they are the Charmed Ones, aka the most powerful witches in the world, after the death of their mother. Mantock departed the series after the third season with Lucy Barrett joining the cast as Michaela “Kaela” Danso, who ends up filling the third spot in the Power of Three due to her having a connection to the sisters from a stem cell donation from Macy when she was battling cancer. The reboot ended on June 10, 2022, after four seasons with the series finale seeing Mel, Maggie, and Kaela showing up at Halliwell Manor, seemingly connecting the reboot to the original series — something that caused some controversy among fans of the original
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