‘Charmed’ Parallels Original Series With Major Star Exiting Series

Charmed still hasn’t found the secret spell to keep all members of the show’s main cast together for an entire run. The CW reboot will mirror the original series, as one of the sister witches on the show will be written out after three seasons. Madeleine Mantock announced she will not be back to play Macy Vaughn in Season 4 this fall. The original Charmed also saw Shannen Doherty leave after three seasons, although the circumstances were very different.

“Playing Macy on Charmed for the last three seasons has been an immense privilege and I have so enjoyed working with our fantastic producers, creatives, cast, and crew,” Mantock said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly Monday. “I’m incredibly grateful to The CW and CBS Studios for my time on the show and for being a brilliant support in my difficult decision to leave. Huge thanks to our fans who can look forward to, what I know will be, a spectacular fourth season.”

The new Charmed launched on The CW in October 2018 and was developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin. Mantock played the eldest of the three telekinetic sisters, alongside Melonie Diaz as Mel Vera and Sarah Jeffrey as Maggie Vera. Robert Evans also stars as their guardian, Harry Greenwood. Jordan Donica and Poppy Drayton joined the show in Season 2.

The reasons for Mantock’s sudden departure have not surfaced yet. It appears to be on good terms though, as showrunners Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro wished her the best and said the “door is always open” for Macy to return. “We can’t thank Madeleine enough for her incredible and inspiring work on Charmed,” Kruger and Shapiro said. “We will miss her as much as the fans will, but we also respect her decision to move on. This is a difficult time in the world, and everyone has to follow their heart.

The original Charmed was created by Constance M. Burge and aired on The WB from 1998 to 2006. The show starred Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Milano as the three sisters at the heart of the show. After Doherty left, Rose McGowan was cast as Paige Matthews, a younger half-sister introduced in Season 4. Doherty left after rumors of on-set tension with Milano. Doherty’s character was killed off at the end of Season 3.

When The CW announced plans for a Charmed reboot in 2018, Doherty was surprisingly among its defenders. “I’m intrigued by the idea that a new generation might be comforted, inspired like all you were. Charmed helped us all in some way,” Doherty told one fan in January 2018. She also noted the reboot could mean “more great roles for women,” calling it a “huge plus.” As for why she was so positive about the idea, she told a fan she is “simply choosing to be constructive about it because negativity has no place in my life.”