It seems one of the original Charmed writers isn't bewitched by their successors.
The Charmed revival's season four finale aired on June 10, marking the end of the series. In the finale, Mel (Melonie Diaz), Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) and Kaela (Lucy Barrett) discover a portal to Halliwell Manor, where Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Paige (Rose McGowan) lived in the original show. As executive producer Joey Falco told TVLine, "We wanted to eventually tie these universes together."
Exceutive producer Jeffrey Lieber added that they hoped to re-introduce the OG stars—that is, if they're "around and amenable."
However, original show writer Curtis Kheel made it crystal clear that the OG crew doesn't want to be associated with the revival. He imagined what would've happened if Charmed was renewed for another season, tweeting June 11, "I can tell u what happened next: Piper, Phoebe & Paige vanquished the 3 imposters right after they invaded Halliwell Manor. Then @H_Combs blew up the portal to that other universe & quipped: 'We wish them well.'"
The reboot's writers, who have a shared Twitter account, responded to Kheel's remarks: "Unlike with the OG version of the franchise, we had a strict ‘no assholes' hiring policy in the writer's room. We feel mostly sorry for these people, because unlike them we actually like each other and had the BEST time."
"And for the record, we LOVE both versions, which is why we set out to create a cohesive universe," they continued. "In our minds there is zero competition in a long line of strong young witches tasked with repeatedly saving the world."
Following the reboot writers' response, Kheel outlined his issues with the new iteration and the perceived slights to the Charmed fan base. "My problem with the Charmed reboot is that from Day One, it pretended like the original Charmed didn't exist, yet it borrowed a ton of ideas from it," Kheel said. "We worked very hard on the OG series for many years [and] to disregard that is offensive and disrespectful to us and our fans."
The creators of the original series, as well as the actresses, have previously expressed their distaste for the show.
For the actresses, they were upset that the new series was branded as "feminist" by the network, with Combs remarking in a tweet, "Guess we forgot to do that the first go around."
Sarah Jeffery eventually spoke out about the original stars' remarks, saying she'd be "embarrassed" if she were behaving the way they were. To this, Combs was frustrated but relented, saying in a statement, "I would like everyone to stop. Truth be told and it will be told is that our issues were and are at the corporate level. And we have the receipts."
She continued, "I will say to the ladies of the reboot... stick together... negotiate together and know that the discourse between us. you guys and crews being discarded and replaced is what they bank on. Division. That is all. Blessed be."