‘Charmed’ Reboot Misses the Mark With Long-Time Fans After Series Premiere

The CW’s Charmed reboot debuted on Sunday, and fans of the original series were less than impressed with the new story of the Charmed Ones and their fight against evil.

In the new series, three half-sisters are deemed the new Charmed Ones and discover they are witches after their mother died. The eldest is Macy, played by Madeleine Mantock, and the youngest is Maggie, played by Sarah Jeffrey. Melonie Diaz plas Mel, the middle sister.

During the pilot, the trio discovered they had magical powers, and were met by Harry Greenwood, their Whitelighter, a guardian angel who guides witches, played by Rupert Evans. He told them the truth about their mother and the backstory behind witches in the world of Charmed. They were given an opportunity to become witches. At first they were reluctant, but eventually decided to become witches.

Critics were mixed on the series before it debuted, but Charmed fans made it clear that they were not happy with this reboot.

“Seriously..? @cw_charmed What is this s–!? Not #Charmed #CharmedReboot i decided to give it a shot and i didnt know it would be possible but it is worse than my expectations,” one fan wrote.

Author Adam Silvera provided one of the positive reviews on Twitter.

“I’m not feeling this show. I wonder is this a reboot that you have to watch the original to understand #Charmed,” one viewer wrote.

A long-time Charmed fan could not stop thinking about the original Charmed stars.

“Well, at least they kept w the same cheesy graphics of the original #charmed. I hope this gets better. But I’m not optimistic seeing as the acting is trash,” added another.

The new Charmed updated the story for 2018, leaning into the #MeToo movement in its premiere episode. The show also took steps to be more diverse, with all three sisters of Latino descent. Mel was also introduced as a lesbian in a relationship with a police detective.

In an interview with Decider, producer Jennie Snyder Urman said they hope to pay tribute to the original Charmed, while allowing the new characters to create a legacy of their own.

“I think it’s about embracing their power, as women and as witches. At its core, that’s what it’s about,” Urman said. “It’s nice that we’re women and writing about women and all of that, but you know [Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Milano] own sort of the original in terms of its legacy. So we’re just trying to be respectful of that while doing something different in homage.”

New episodes of Charmed air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

Photo credit: The CW