Charmed may be over, but the feud between the original and the reboot is not
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Beware a witch scorned...
Since the Charmed reboot was first announced, it has drawn ire from the original cast and team behind the WB cult favorite. But even with both shows' magic now extinguished — the reboot's series finale aired on the CW last week — the bad blood continues.
The reboot ended its four-season run on June 10 with a nod to the original series, sending its Charmed Ones — Mel (Melonie Diaz), Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) and Kaela (Lucy Barrett) — through a portal to Halliwell Manor, the home of the original witches, Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and Paige (Rose McGowan).
Everett Collection; Colin Bentley/The CW
Original series writer Curtis Kheel had some thoughts about that, and they weren't positive. On Saturday, he wrote on Twitter, "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.' #seriesfinale#CharmedReunionMovie."
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.” #seriesfinale #CharmedReunionMovie https://t.co/Ab5dBsts6f
— Curtis Kheel (@curtiskheel) June 11, 2022
Kheel's comments echo the original series' stars' remarks against the reboot, which included railing against the show's marketing as "fierce, funny, and feminist" with Combs accusing the new show of "capitalizing on our hard work." Rose McGowan, without having ever seen the new series, declared that "it sucks."
But just like Sarah Jeffery, who called out the original actors' comments, the new Charmed writers were not about to take Kheel's comments lying down. They responded from their joint Twitter account, writing, "Unlike with the OG version of the franchise, we had a strict 'no a--holes' 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..."
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... https://t.co/laKke3Yo8n— Charmed Writers (@CharmedWriters) June 11, 2022
"And for the record, we LOVE both versions," they added. "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."
Kheel further clarified his remarks on Sunday, saying, "The idea that there are more #CharmedOnes than just Prue/Piper/Phoebe/Paige is retrofit nonsense, meant to legitimize the reboot. I call bullsh--. 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."
He concluded, "My problem with the #Charmedreboot is that from Day One, it pretended like the original #Charmed didn't exist, yet it borrowed a ton of ideas from it. We worked very hard on the OG series for many years & to disregard that is offensive & disrespectful to US & our fans."
Just like magic, perhaps this feud will never die.
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