Charmed Reboot's Cast Not Bothered by Original Star's Shade: "She Would See It and Like It"

Not everyone is excited about The CW's decision to reboot Charmed, the late '90s and early aughts tribute to sisterly love and witchcraft.

Some fans were irked that the writers' new characters seemed to be trying too hard to champion diversity since the three multiethnic leads are now playing women who were Caucasian in the original series. And others, like first series star Holly Marie Combs, brought up another issue: is it ageist to reboot a series that just ended in 2006 and not cast the original's stars?

"I will never understand what is fierce, funny, or feminist in creating a show that basically says the original actresses are too old to do a job they did 12 years ago," Combs wrote to a journalist earlier this year. For their part, the cast of the new Charmed are not letting these comments get them down.

"I think that we've collectively made a decision to focus on [the fact that this] is such a great place to be and to create this show with people who I love," Melonie Diaz, who plays middle sister Mel in this version, told journalists on Monday during the show's Summer Television Critics Association press day.

Sarah Jeffrey, who plays youngest sister Maggie, adds that "we understand that it's such a sacred thing to so many people; not only the cast but the fans" and that she and the others involved now are "very gracious and grateful" for that. Madeleine Mantock, who plays eldest sister Macy, says she understands Combs's attachment to the show and that she hopes "she would see it and like it."

So will any original cast members appear in the new version of Charmed? "There's always multi verses, and you never know," teased executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman.

Charmed premieres on Oct. 14 on The CW.