The Cast of the New Charmed Is 'Open' to Meeting the Original Stars Amid Backlash to Reboot

Dana Rose Falcone
Updated

Charmed is back, and there’s a new set of magical sisters this time around. But fans of the original series — starring Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty, Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano — shouldn’t expect The CW’s version to be a carbon copy.

“It’s a fresh take,” Charmed star Madeleine Mantock told PEOPLE at The CW’s upfronts presentation in New York City on Thursday. “The main similarities are there are three sisters. There are a few nods to the original in the pilot.”

Mantock plays Macy, Mel (Melonie Diaz) and Maggie’s (Sarah Jeffery) older sister who turns up on their doorstep after the suspicious death of their mother. As they being getting to know one another, each girl discovers they have magic powers: Mel can freeze time, Maggie can read minds and Macy has telekinesis.

Stars of the new <em>Charmed</em> (from left) Sarah Jeffery, Madeleine Mantock and Melonie Diaz.
Stars of the new Charmed (from left) Sarah Jeffery, Madeleine Mantock and Melonie Diaz.

Though Mel initially isn’t welcoming to her long-lost sister, off-screen Mantock said the leading ladies already feel like family. “We have a really good bond already,” the 28-year-old gushed. “I feel real grateful, and I love working with these two.”

Diaz, Jeffery and Mantock haven’t let the backlash that followed the news of the reboot worry them. (Combs tweeted in January that the remake wouldn’t “fool” fans of the ’90s drama. While Doherty was generally supportive of the project, she criticized the new installment for billing itself as feminist, since she considered the original series as such.)

“We want the fans to like it, but at the same time I feel like expectation is not exactly the healthiest,” Ro alum Diaz, 34, said. “We just want to make a good show.”

Shades of Blue actress Jeffery, 22, added, “We definitely respect the foundation that has been made but there are of course new themes. We’re in a totally different time.”

Mantock said that despite the tension, the new cast would be “very welcoming” to input or appearances from the original stars. “We’re open to it,” the Into the Badlands alum said, adding that she hopes longtime fans will introduce the new series to their kids. “I think it could be a cool generational thing to share.”

Charmed will air Sundays on The CW this fall.