‘Charmed’s Cast and Creators Are Paying Homage to the Original While Trying to Build Something New

Ten years ago The WB introduced the “Power of Three” and a group of witches who were just as incredible to watch fighting evil as they were sorting through the trials of growing up. The WB may be gone as is the original trio, but the spirit of Charmed is back with The CW’s latest reboot.

Set in the fictional college town of Hilltowne, Michigan, the latest take on the supernatural series follows Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz), and Maggie (Sarah Jeffery), a new trio of spell-casting sister. But after the untimely death of their mother, these three young women have to learn about their newfound powers on their own.

At the Television Critics Association’s 2018 summer tour, Decider had the chance to talk to the show’s three leads as well as executive Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin. These creators and actors discussed the futures of The Charmed Ones, the importance of staying true to the original property, and what a new version of Charmed can say about the world a decade after the original’s premiere.

“I think it’s about embracing their power, as women and as witches. At its core, that’s what it’s about,” executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman told us. Urman is best known for developing the ever-enchanting and sweet CW show, Jane the Virgin.

Since The CW announced Charmed, there has been some backlash from fans of the original series about resurrecting this property. However, Urman wants to make it clear she has no intention of overshadowing the original Charmed‘s legacy. “It’s nice that we’re women and writing about women and all of that, but you know [Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Milano] own sort of the original in terms of its legacy. So we’re just trying to be respectful of that while doing something different in homage.”

Part of what makes this reboot different form the original is how it approaches politically charged subjects. The new Charmed doesn’t mince words about how its leading women of color are affected by politics in modern day America. But at the same time there are often funny moments to this series that opens with a mother’s tragic death. When asked how the reboot balances these complicated tones, executive producer Amy Rardin said, “Just coming from [Jane the Virgin], coming from there has helped.”

“There’s no denying the fact that we use the language of a witch hunt in order to marginalize and otherize experiences and also all of the baggage that comes with the witch hunt — how that was used to marginalize powerful women for so long,” Urman said. “And we wanted to embrace that I think and contextualize it.”

That contextualization happens in how Charmed uses its witches’ powers. “[Fantasy] allows you to speak in metaphors about power structures and to give a little bit of dissonance so that the audience doesn’t feel like they’re being given medicine,” Urman said. “You’re creating this alt world where there are different rules, and I think that allows you to look at our world and what our rules are, so that’s exciting.”

As for the trio’s fantastical powers, they too borrow heavily from the original all while keeping these new characters in mind. Two of the three women’s powers are the same as in the original Charmed. And every character’s power has been carefully crafted to showcase both their strengths and weaknesses.

“It just seemed so natural that Maggie, our most sensitive character who worries a lot about what other people think, she would be the one whose power would be to hear what other people think, which is some ways could be her worst nightmare,” executive producer Jessica O’Toole said.

Likewise Mel, the middle sister who is the biggest control freak with the biggest temper, has the ability to stop time. But if Mel gets too upset, she’s unable to harness her ability. And Macy, Charmed‘s intellectually curious, left-brained geneticist, has an ability that connects her mental prowess to the real world — telepathy. But, O’Toole revealed, Macy’s inability to fully explain how her powers work through scientific theory will cause her distress as the series progresses.

“We’re looking at how we can control our powers better and how we also struggle with them, so… overthinking can wreak havoc with [Macy’s] power a little bit,” Madeleine Mantock, the actress behind the oldest sister Macy, said.

Another high point of the new Charmed is how it immediately establishes its characters. Right away Charmed gives Macy, Mel, and Maggie their own personalities and passions completely separate from their relationship as sisters and their discovery of their powers. For Macy, that identity comes from her work at the lab.

For Mel, that independent identity comes from her firm feminist beliefs and her passion for politics. “I’m different from Mel in the sense that I’m passionate, but I don’t think I’m as intense or as dark as she is,” Melonie Diaz, the actress behind the fiery Mel, said.

Diaz admitted that she looked to her friend America Ferrera a lot when she was trying to channel Mel’s political intensity. “America is like at the forefront of like all these political movements, and Mel is like that person. She’s a go-getter,” she said.

But it’s Charmed‘s quietest and most self-conscious sister who has perhaps the series’ most interesting struggle. While dealing with her mother’s death, the youngest Maggie is going through sorority recruitment. The series uses her character to explore the idea and responsibilities tied to biological sisters versus chosen sisters.

“I think it’s cool that, yeah Maggie is rushing a sorority, but she’s not that stereotypical, ditzy, cares about looks — she she cares about fashion and is excited about her sorority life, but she’s also smart and caring,” Sarah Jeffery said.

Above all else, the new Charmed doesn’t feel like it’s trying to mimic the original, nor does it feel like it’s giving the property the middle finger. In its own sweet, surprisingly funny, and politically pointed way, Charmed is telling a new story about what being a woman in modern America is like.

“I think for me what I want people to take away is that you can be exactly who you are, as wonderful and as messy as that is,” Mantock said. “But if you find your tribe, if you find your coven, then you can have a happy home.”

When asked the same question, Diaz focused on how the idea of wish fulfillment characterizes stories about witches and magic. “We all have these powers within us,” she said. “People can do anything they want. And I think that’s going to be a really good platform for people.”

Fitting for her sweet character, Jeffery focused on the ties of sisterhood when asked what people should take away from the new Charmed. “I think supporting women, and being passionate about the right things,” she said.

The Charmed reboot premieres on The CW Sunday, October 14 at 9/8c.

Watch Charmed on The CW Sunday, October 14