It’s been a few days since it was announced that The CW would bring back Aaron Spelling’s fondly remembered witchy show Charmed (Right? We all remember it fondly, right?) for a new series set in 1976, and a few more details have slipped out of the TCAs.
EW reports that The CW’s president Mark Pedowitz clarified that this new take, which comes from Jane The Virgin‘s Jessica O’Toole, Amy Rardin, and Jennie Snyder Urman, is a reboot and not a prequel to the original, although he didn’t rule out appearances from the original cast (Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Shannen Doherty and Rose McGowan, as if you need reminding) at some point down the line.
“At this point, it’s a self-contained, self-sustaining show,” he said. “In terms of whether the [original] characters or actresses will come into the series, we’ll see what happens as the series goes on. That’s to be determined.”
“At this time, there is the Power of Three element in there, but at this time it’s a stand-alone, separate show.”
With so many TV series coming back for a limited revival run (Gilmore Girls, Will & Grace, etc), it wouldn’t be entirely outrageous to suggest that the Halliwell sisters could reunite for a few more episodes for their own revival but, as evidenced by their continued commitment to renewing as many series as humanly possible, The CW does seem to be in the business of long-running stories.
We’re also huge fans of Jane The Virgin (which got another renewed for another season along with the similarly brilliant but sadly non-genre Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, thank you, TV gods), so it’s easy to share Pedowitz’s excitement about that creative team taking on this story.
“It just has to be Jennie for me,” he said. “You know it’s not going to be a factory spun-out show. You know it’s going to be something unique. She can’t help herself because she’s so hands-on in what she does. Whether it works or doesn’t work, at least I know she’ll make it different.”
Although we share that typical “What are you messing around with that for?” reaction to reboot/remake/reimagining news, the idea of three witch sisters living in San Francisco (assuming it is still San Francisco) is still one we’re happy to watch, and the 1976 setting sounds like it could add something interesting and different. And, as we said, we love Jane The Virgin, so…let’s see what happens.
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