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When the Charmed Reboot announcement was made, the internet erupted with excitement!     Everyone had a burning question: Would Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda's story be continued as so many wished it would be?    The truth is-that wasn't the story at all.    In fact, the showrunners chose to take a new approach.     Did this approach honor those who came before it?

That wouldn't be the case.

As part of its 2018 reboot, Charmed showrunners set sisterhood aside as the primary focus of the show.

Pilot itself focuses on three sisters, each in their early twenties, one of which nobody knew about-a story similar to the Season Four Premiere in which, following the death of Prue, both Phoebe and Piper meet long lost sister Paige Matthews.

Harry, a Whitelighter, abducts the protagonists and lectures them.   He gives the protagonists information rather than letting them discover who and what they are on their own.  

Unfortunately, the episode reads more like badly written fan fiction.     One hopes future episodes are more thoughtful and engaging.    Pilot episodes are not always indicative of the entire series.    In a world you create, there is always room to improve and grow.

Should you watch the pilot?

Yes.  Despite my impression of the episode, it doesn't mean that you won't enjoy it.  

Trust, but verify.

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Airing its first season in 2018, the CW’s reboot of Charmed has finished its third season in 2021 and is currently airing its fourth, with the first episode of season four airing on March 11, 2022. Even before the first season began airing, fans of the original series along with cast members Holly Marie Combs, Rose McGowan, and Alyssa Milano were against it.

Why?

Here are two blog posts (with further links) that go into heavy detail about the behavior of the cast and crew towards the original series’ actresses and fanbase, as well as the misdirection of the showrunners concerning the show’s Latina representation:

Exposing the fake feminism and multiple proofs of the Charmed reboot people dissing the original cast

Will the real Latinas please stand up? – false Latina representation in the Charmed reboot

In October 2020, the “feud” was started up again when Sarah Jeffery made accusatory comments regarding an Instagram Live video Holly and Rose had filmed, responding in one segment to a fan pointing out that the 1998 Charmed series had been taken off Netflix, leaving the 2018 reboot there in its place. Absolutely none of the reboot’s cast, crew, writers, or producers were named or tagged, and Jeffery had found out about the video via a reboot fan deliberately sending it to her.  Media outlets who picked up the story further painted Rose and Holly as jealous petty bitches when the original actresses responded to Sarah Jeffery’s accusations on social media, noting that Sarah was the one who had brought race into the discussion, ironically proved Holly’s earlier points of ageism within the industry, and both of them had to clarify that their issue had always been with the way they and their show was treated by the network and was now seemingly being replaced by the reboot (which wouldn’t exist without their work on the original for eight years) after The CW and CBS had ignored the show for 12 years.

Sources:

the original Instagram video in question

Charmed Actress Sarah Jeffery Calls Rose McGowan, Holly Marie Combs 'Pathetic' for Slamming CW Reboot

Trouble’s Brewing Among the ‘Charmed’ Witches as Original Cast Continues Feuding With Reboot Stars

‘Charmed’s Rose McGowan Keeps Tussle With the Reboot’s Sarah Jeffery Alive

Furthermore, for all the promises from then-showrunners Jennie Urman & Jessica O’Toole and producer Brad Siberling that the first season would delve into Latin witchcraft and the Veras’ Puerto Rican heritage, only a handful of episodes did so in a lip service manner:

season 1, episode 9 “Jingle Hell” has Maggie struggling to keep her mom’s Christmas traditions going

another season 1 episode has the sisters using a spell derived from Santeria, an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century

after finding out that she and Macy have the same father, Maggie struggles with suddenly being part-Black and all the scholarship opportunities this opens up for her, as she’s identified as Puerto Rican-American her whole life and doesn’t feel attached to the Black community

Galvin’s and Macy’s subplot deals heavily with Yoruba, a West African polytheist religion

Another episode draws on a Hollywood interpretation of vodoun that isn’t actually vodoun for Macy to cast a spell to help her with her demonic side

As noted elsewhere, the reboot still features the Celtic symbol the triquetra to represent the Power of Three and the Veras’ bond as the Charmed Ones, as well as Marisol having a Book of Shadows and a mention of Melinda Warren in the same B.O.S.: Books of Shadows are only found in the Wiccan form of witchcraft. Most of the spells are also in Latin, there’s again the mention of personal gain (which as in the previous series seems to draw from the concept of the Threefold Law), and the reboot’s background lore draws heavily on Greek mythology and Western/Northern European folklore and magic, when it’s not coming up with its own lore (despite having a Latin witch on-staff during the first season, and none of the white US-American showrunners/writers seemed to show much respect for him and his beliefs). One scene in season two (which had different showrunners) has the owner of a botanica (who later has a will-they-won’t-they relationship with Mel) criticizing Mel for thinking the botanica owner is a “dime-store Wiccan”... when a botanica is a store that specializes in and primarily caters to practitioners of Yoruba and Santeria.

The season 1 writers also didn’t come up with a clear answer to the sisters’ parentage until ten episodes into a 22-episode season; when the season was still being filmed and episode five was in pre-production, the cast and writers still had no definite clue who the girls’ father was and were working under the impression that Maggie, Macy, and Mel would each have different fathers.

The change of showrunners in the second season really doesn’t help matters, as the sisters are primarily separated from each other for plot reasons for most of the season, the showrunners have done their best to erase the events of the first season from continuity, and the majority of character and plot focus goes toward Harry Greenwood (their Whitelighter) and Abigael Jameson-Caine, two white English characters. The third season, while introducing a trans woman cousin for the Veras, also continues to heavily focus on Abigael (with Abigael getting an unnecessary redemption arc) and Harry (who seeks to regain his mortality) instead of the three titular Charmed Ones who are supposed to be this show’s protagonists--and are witches of color.

To put that into clearer words: The Puerto Rican and Afro-Latina witch protagonists are sidelined in their own show for the sake of two white English characters, one of which is their Whitelighter guardian angel and the other is a recurring demon-witch antagonist.

Given all that was going on behind-the-scenes, the way her character was treated by the writers, and her two co-stars starting feuds with the original cast on social media whenever given the opportunity, I personally really don’t blame Madeline Mantock for seeing the writing on the wall, getting fed up, and leaving the show as soon as she had the chance after the third season. Good for her. 

Further reading:

Why We Don’t Need a Charmed Reboot

The CW's Charmed Reboot Is So Political, It Forgot to Be Fun

Why The Charmed Reboot Pilot Is Worse Than The Original

Alyssa Milano Thinks Charmed Reboot Disrespected The Original Stars

This Is How Charmed Became a Show That Hates Itself

We Need to Talk About Fan Reactions to the Charmed Reboot

Charmed Reboot & The Feminism of the Original Series

Charmed Reboot vs. Original: Why the Reboot Failed

My Issues with the Charmed Reboot

Charmed BEST MOMENTS and Why the Reboot Sucks

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Constance M. Burge, creator of the original Charmed series that first aired in 1998, made no secret of the fact her show was partially inspired by The Craft, a 1996 teen-centered film that also featured Witchcraft: specifically, the Neo-Pagan religion of Wicca. The writers for that film did their research into the religion, before tossing most of it out in favor of a Hollywood-style horror flick.

     Wicca, also referred to as Witchcraft, the Craft, or the Old Religion, was created/revived by Dr. Gerald Gardner in 1950s England. He was initiated into the New Forest coven in the 1930s and developed the tradition named after him: Gardnerian Wicca. Gardnerian, along with Alexandrian Wicca, is often referred to together as British Traditional Wicca/Witchcraft, or BTW. Aside from the coven-oriented, initiatory traditions there are other Wiccans who are solitaries and practice their craft without being initiated into a specific tradition and/or coven. Because there is no central figure or organization in Wicca, the religion is very decentralized and there are several different traditions and paths.

     Charmed (1998) drew from this form of witchcraft to base its Craft practices and system on, especially during the first three seasons. Let's see what exactly they drew upon and how much of it was accurate.

The Book of Shadows & the Triquetra

The Halliwell's Book of Shadows contains information on the varieties of evil beings the sisters have to fight and have been encountered by the Warren line over the years, as well as spells and uses for potions. Real-life Wiccans do indeed have a Book of Shadows, containing the Mysteries of their particular path, beliefs, spells, and notes on rituals. No information on vanquishing demons or evil beings, though, unless those demons are metaphorical.

     The Triquetra on the front cover of the Warren line's Book of Shadows (and the symbol of the Charmed Ones' power) is an ancient Celtic symbol—one so ancient that it has even been adopted by some forms of Christianity to represent its Holy Trinity. In Wicca, the triquetra represents the Triple Goddess in Her three aspects of Maiden, Mother, and Crone and is also a symbol of protection, much like the pentagram/pentacle. Another symbol used to commonly represent the Triple Goddess is a full moon flanked by two crescent moons; a variant of this symbol shows up in the episode “Black as Cole”.

The Witches' Creed

Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night. The oldest of gods are invoked here; the great work of magic is wrought.

     The opening lines to the Dominus Trinus spell to invoke the Charmed Ones' powers come from The Witches' Creed, a poem written by prominent Wiccan Doreen Valiente in the 1970s. The first two lines come from the opening to the poem; “the oldest of gods are invoked here; the great work of magic is wrought” is from the ninth verse. A later episode, “Exit Strategy”, has the third verse used by Jenna to close a circle at a gathering of her coven: “The birth and rebirth of all nature, the passing of winter and spring, we share with the life universal, rejoice in the magical ring.”

The Wiccan Rede

     The Wiccan Rede, “An' it harm none, do as you will”, is one of the major tenants of Wicca. While all Wiccans are Pagans and witches, not all Pagans and witches are Wiccan—and some witches are not Pagan; as such, non-Wiccan witches do not follow the Rede. The Rede is only mentioned in the pilot when Phoebe is explaining their powers to Piper, but it's nice that the writers brought it up at all.

Male Witches vs. Warlocks

     Phoebe states in the pilot that a witch who turns from the Rede and kills other witches to gain their powers is a warlock, a bad witch, regardless of gender. Male witches in Charmed are also referred to as witches. The same generally holds true in real-life Wicca. The etymology for warlock is the Old English word for “oathbreaker”; in Wicca, the term refers to someone who breaks their initiatory oath and reveals coven secrets and Mysteries of their tradition to cowans (non-Wiccans). It is highly offensive to refer to someone as a warlock, especially if that person is a male Wiccan. Male Wiccans and witches are Wiccans/witches, not warlocks.

The Threefold Law/The Law of Three

     While not initially in Gerald Gardner's Book of Shadows (the closest he came to it was a mention in his fictional novel High Magick's Aide), the Law of Three/Threefold Law has since been adopted by many Wiccans. It states that whatever energy a Wiccan puts out during the working of a spell—good or bad—will eventually return back on its caster three times as strong. The Charmed writers seem to have drawn from this tenant for their concept of “personal gain” in magic.

Rituals, Sabbats, and the Witch's Tools

     In the opening scene of the pilot episode, we see Serena Fredrick begin to perform a ritual, invoking the Goddess and the God and casting a protective circle, before she is murdered. This is not the only instance of ritual magic in the series: the Charmed Ones use ritual spellcasting themselves later in the episode after their powers are invoked and throughout most of the first season.

     When the police arrive at Serena's apartment and Inspector Andy Trudeau shows up after checking out a lead, he has this to say to his partner, Darryl Morris:

Andy: I wanna solve these murders. Someone's after witches. Darryl: Women. Andy: That woman up there, I bet she was killed with an athame. Darryl: Wrong. Double edged steel knife. Andy: Right. That's an athame. It's a ceremonial tool. Witches use them to direct energy. Darryl: That woman didn't direct jack. She was stabbed. Plain and simple. Andy: Was she found in an altar? Darryl: Yes. Andy: Were there carvings on that altar? Darryl: Just do me a favor. Don't even follow a lead without checking with me first. Andy: You wanna go to occult shops?

     A scene change later, this conversation happens:

Darryl: So, the murderer is killing occults. Andy: No, the murderer's on witch hunts. Darryl: Oh, yeah, he's five to eight years old and he lives in Salem. Look around, Trudeau. Pentagrams, altars, offerings, all the tools of a freak fest. Andy: They call them Sabbats. Which is hardly a freak fest. She was a solitary practitioner. She practiced her craft alone.

     In both instances, the information Andy gives is accurate. An athame is a double-edged ceremonial steel knife/dagger used by Wiccans and witches to focus and direct energy during rituals. It is never used for cutting; another knife is used for that purpose. As for the date, he is correct about that, too: the season 2 premier episode “Witch Trial” reveals that their awakening happened on the autumnal equinox—also known as Mabon, one of the lesser Sabbats.

     This particular Sabbat also falls on a full moon, one of the most important times for spellcasting. Phoebe states after invoking their powers that the book said something about the “Three Essentials of Magic”: timing, feeling, and the phases of the moon. This is very similar to what Raymond Buckland refers to in The Complete Book of Witchcraft as timing, feeling, and cleanliness:  Timing ties in with the phases of the moon, while feeling is the most important ingredient—you must really want the magick to work. Buckland also says that “You must put every infinite particle of power into that desire, that urge for the act to come to pass. For this reason, it is usually far more effective to do magick for yourself than to do it on someone’s behalf. It is seldom that another person can feel as intensely about something as the one directly concerned”. As for the phases of the moon, there are several different moon phases that are important for working particular types of magic and which deities one wishes to invoke for the purpose of the ritual.

Handfasting

     In the episode “Magic Hour”, Piper comes across a page in the Book of Shadows on Handfasting and decides to use this Wiccan version of a wedding to be married to Leo during the solar eclipse when the Elders are unable to view events happening on the earthly plane, with the spirit of Grams acting as High Priestess. In real-life Wicca and other Pagan religions, Handfasting is indeed the term for a wedding and while it is often conducted by the High Priest or Priestess of a coven if that High Priest/ess is a licensed member of the clergy, it doesn't necessarily have to be. Some couples are handfasted for a year and a day; others have vows stating “for as long as love will last”, acknowledging that people can and do grow apart and may wish to divorce.

Other Miscellanous Trivia

     Buckland's Auction House, Prue's workplace for the first season and most of the second, was named for Raymond Buckland, the man credited with bringing Wicca over to the United States from England in the 1970s. Originally an initiate of Gerald Gardner, Buckland left the Gardnerian tradition and formed his own, known as Seax-Wica. He also wrote several books on Wicca and Witchcraft for those seeking to learn more about the religion on their own.

     While the Charmed Ones are the magical witches we see the most often in the series, other magical witches and mortal witchcraft practitioners are shown to more closely follow the spiritual aspects of the Wiccan religion than the sisters do. The  Halliwells are great at the spellcasting side of the Craft and using their powers, and they did learn the tenants of natural witchcraft in colonial Virginia, but later on in the show they aren't shown paying much attention to the Sabbats, esbats (full moon rituals), or worshiping any particular deity. Several of the tie-in novels published during the show's run (Mist and Stone, Mystic Knoll, The Warren Witches, Something Wiccan This Way Comes, Inherit the Witch, and Seasons of the Witch, vol 1) do correct this, with those books' authors clearly doing their own research into witchcraft and Wiccan beliefs and incorporating that into the novel for the Halliwells.

     The Underworld: Wiccans do not have a concept of hell or the Devil, as those belong to Christianity. However, some do believe in reincarnation, and many utilize the pre-Christian concept of the Underworld or Netherworld as found in many world mythologies. One of our myths involves the Goddess descending down into the Underworld wanting to know the Mysteries of life and encountering the personification of Death, who gives her the Fivefold Kiss. There is nothing in real-life Wicca about demons, angels, Darklighters, Whitelighters, or a Source of All Evil; those were all either made up for the show or belong to other belief systems.

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Charmed is a story about sisters. Whether you enjoy watching 1998 Charmed, 2018 Charmed, or reading the comics and books, Charmed has always been about sisters. The series is about the bonds of sisterhood.   However, there is something important in the differences between the two tv shows despite the twenty-year time gap.

If you squint very hard, you can see some similarities between the shows. Both tv shows revolve around three sisters. Both groups of sisters are Charmed Ones, and they have a Whitelighter. They fight the forces of evil, but that's it.  

On the one hand, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige are sisters who happen to be witches. On the other hand, Macy, Mel, and Maggie are witches who happen to be sisters. While in the original TV series, sisterhood was an integral part of these stories, you see none of that in the rebooted show. For example, both Phoebe (played by Alyssa Milano) and Maggie (played by Sarah Jeffery) had Empathy and Telepathy respectively. However, both of them utilized it differently. Phoebe understood boundaries and tried to not pry into her sisters' minds, whereas Maggie had no problem snooping around every little thought and using it to her advantage.  

If you only look at the first season, there are even more differences between the shows. Charmed Season One (1998) was more or less a procedural drama with the supernatural world thrown into the mix. While Charmed (2018) Season one was an amalgamation of Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and other supernatural-themed tv shows. It tried to be too much too quickly and not take a moment to pace itself and do some world-building.

Another difference is relatability. In the original series, the Halliwells were dealing with real-world problems. They had concerns such as bills, college, relationships, jobs, and others--you do not get any of that in the reboot. The Vera-Vaughn family has nothing that really makes you connect with them.    If anything, they push you further and further away.  

It is not surprising that in 2022, Charmed (1998) still has a massive following, with their interesting storylines and character arcs.   While the subsequent reboot seems to have no community at all.     You don't see anyone talking about how amazing last night's Charmed episode was.     What do people talk about?   The Halliwells.    Who was a better relationship, Leo and Piper or Phoebe and Cole?    Chris deserved better in his treatment in season six.   Cole deserved better than the shaft he received by the writers after all he went through!    

So despite the reboot’s terrible ratings, it still has a chance to better.    If it can manage to rework the world and change a few things, maybe they can finally bring some people back.     Even win over some OG fans like myself.