Charmed is the latest show to ride the resurrection wave, though it’s doing so with no small amount of irritation from the old cast, who weren’t ever part of the discussions. Holly Marie Combs took issue with the “Fierce. Funny. Feminist” slogan — and the notion, concurrently circulated, that this was “Charmed but with a feminist spin,” as if it lacked one before — by saying, “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,” and making the point that the show was already pretty feminist because of its strong female leads and the script work the four of them did. Vulture has a piece on the new show that tries to help the producers course-correct and explain that they’re simply rooting the show’s attitude in this more contemporary feminist movement and moment in time. Alyssa Milano and Combs both did say that they hope the show finds its footing and manages to do for people what the first one did, but there’s a sense that they are insulted that they were considered too obsolete to be part of it. I get both sides and hope that what ultimately comes out of it is just… a good show that has its own merits and message.

The three stars are: Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station), Madeleine Mantock, and Sarah Jeffrey, who was in the Descendants movies and Shades of Blue. I LOVE Melonie’s orange handbag and the idea of her outfit, even if the top of the dress looks like a dishtowel drawer badly in need of reorganization. The shoes should be grey, though. Sarah over there on the left is wearing a gigantic blouse, as if she forgot to pack an overnight bag and had to borrow something out of her grandmother’s closet. And Madeleine is the one who’s leaned most heavily into the cosmic witchyness of it all:

Charmed Screening and Panel at NY Comic Con

Although with those shoes and all the sheerness and seams, maybe it’s less that she’s the spell caster and more a person who’s been fashion-hexed.

[Photos: Rex/Shutterstock]
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