I don't know anyone whose favorite kind of TV show is a reboot, but if that person exists, they're currently experiencing the peak-iest of Peak TV. The latest reimagining to get a slice of good news is the long-gestating Charmed remake, which has received a pilot order at The CW. But anyone who was really excited about Charmed's past reboot ideas will be in for some disappointment, as the pitch has completely changed for this newest version.
The updated Charmed reboot will eschew the previous plan to head to the past, and will be a present-day story centered on three sisters living in a college town. Everything changes when they discover they're witches, and though their lives now also incorporate battling supernatural demons, they still deal with everyday issues like keeping the family unit intact. Plus, this revised pitch is being touted as a "fierce, funny and feminist" reboot, according to TVLine, so we're also going to see "the patriarchy" used as an overall arch-nemesis, so to speak.
Penning the Charmed pilot will be Jane the Virgin writers and producers Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin, who both worked on developing the previous iteration. Their duties will also include executive producing the CBS Television Studios project alongside Jennie Urman, Ben Silverman and Brad Silberling, who will direct.
To be expected, the Charmed fanbase once again had some choice words for The CW and everyone else involved, taking to social media with thoughts most bewitching. But perhaps the most outspoken person of all has been former Charmed lead Holly Marie Combs, who offered limited-snark replies to fans on Twitter alongside her own unabridged opinion.
It appears Holly Marie Combs would prefer The CW call this witch-fronted project anything else in order to avoid infringing on the Charmed brand. She's not alone out there, either.
Back in 2013, CBS tried crafting its own Charmed remake, but the project never got past the script order stage. The CW first attempted to bring Charmed back to audiences around a year ago, when it went into development on a reimagined story about witches set in the year 1976. That vision didn't last for too long, though, as it was announced a month or so later that the project's development was being pushed back until 2018, basically due to dashed expectations with where the process was going. Apparently this current-day idea was enough to win everyone over, and even though a pilot order doesn't guarantee a full series will get made, this franchise has a ton of fans that want to see more witch power on TV.
The CW had also postponed its Lost Boys TV remake whenever it pushed Charmed back, but there's still no word on that similarly polarizing vampire project. The network did order another supernatural pilot titled Dead Inside, in which a female cop is assisted by her detective brother, who happens to be a g-g-g-ghost! The two solve crimes together and help both living people and spectral entities. We can't wait to see how that weirdness plays out.
Expect to hear some casting news soon for Charmed's reboot, which could go a long way in justifying its existence among disgruntled fans. In the meantime, though, head to our midseason premiere schedule for all the new and returning shows on the way.
