“Charmed” is getting a reboot without the original cast — and television veterans aren’t surprised that Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty are being kept apart! The hit series had to survive plenty of backstage drama among the three actresses playing the witchy Halliwell sisters. That hasn’t stopped Holly from blasting the reboot, though, 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.”
Others, however, remember the brutal celebrity feuds that caused constant problems on the set. Insiders told The National ENQUIRER that the show became a nightmare during its first season in 1998, and blamed Alyssa’s insecurities on Shannen and Holly’s longtime friendship. “Shannen was trying to be on better behavior after getting fired from ‘90210,’” said an on-set spy, “but Alyssa wanted to show she wasn’t the kid from ‘Who’s the Boss?’ — and their egos just collided…”
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Alyssa complained that Shannen demanded too many rewrites, would steal all the best outfits from the wardrobe department, and gave costars the silent treatment.
"She can be aggressive," Alyssa later complained, "so I was afraid of her." An insider added: "Alyssa felt Shannen had all the power and that she was being ignored,. She was convinced that Shannen was [producer]
Aaron Spelling's pet."
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But Alyssa got lucky on Dec. 29, 2000 — when
Shannen made headlines after a wild DUI arrest that had her brawling with California cops! "While she was being fingerprinted, she nearly slugged the deputy," said one eyewitness at the Ventura County Jail, adding: "She started to hit one of the female deputies..She was hysterical!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
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Shortly afterwards, said reports, Alyssa went to producers and gave them an ultimatum to choose between the two stars. Shannen's departure from the show was announced as a "mutual decision" in June 2001.
Rose McGowan, who had suffered a string of box-office bombs at the movies, was added to the show as half-sister Paige Matthews — and later complained she "felt invisible" in what she described as "a very stressful environment."
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Photo credit: Getty Images
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But it wasn't all strife backstage on "Charmed" — with Alyssa and Holly finally becoming producers on the show in 2003. Then they fired the entire production crew, causing more talk of a cursed "Charmed" set. The fired crew didn't take much comfort in seeing key grip David Donoho land on his feet, either, as he married Holly the next year!
Photo credit: Getty Images
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"He was bored with the show, anyway," Holly said. "He wanted to do movies." She was already pregnant with their first child, and the couple would have two more children before divorcing in 2011. The "Charmed" stars would finally find common ground after their show was canceled in 2006 — with all of them blasting their network.
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"We were axed," said Holly. "Nobody ever asked if we want to keep doing this. They just let our contracts run out, and that was it." Alyssa declared she "wouldn't oppose" therapy to recover from her time on the show — adding that she was done with television, unless she was offered a show that "takes place in Hawaii!" Rose later revealed the show had already sent her into hypnotherapy.
Photo credit: Files/Getty
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At least Holly beat the "Charmed" curse for another happy ending. The backstage drama couldn't break the bond that Shannen and Holly had since their teens — and the on-screen sisters even got together for a reality show in 2015. "Off the Map with Shannen & Holly" followed the gals on a road trip. Sadly, the six-episode series came to an end just as
Shannen began a battle against breast cancer.Photo credit: Getty Images
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"Holly and Shannen were best friends for, like, 10 years before the show started," Alyssa complained in 2013, "so it was very much sort of like high school." Even then, Holly quickly went to social media to insist: "Working on 'Charmed' was nothing like high school." Shannen surprisingly stepped in as peacemaker, saying: "OK, gang, there's no drama. Let's not feed into it!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Alyssa complained that Shannen demanded too many rewrites, would steal all the best outfits from the wardrobe department, and gave costars the silent treatment.
"She can be aggressive," Alyssa later complained, "so I was afraid of her." An insider added: "Alyssa felt Shannen had all the power and that she was being ignored,. She was convinced that Shannen was [producer]
Aaron Spelling's pet."
But Alyssa got lucky on Dec. 29, 2000 — when
Shannen made headlines after a wild DUI arrest that had her brawling with California cops! "While she was being fingerprinted, she nearly slugged the deputy," said one eyewitness at the Ventura County Jail, adding: "She started to hit one of the female deputies..She was hysterical!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Shortly afterwards, said reports, Alyssa went to producers and gave them an ultimatum to choose between the two stars. Shannen's departure from the show was announced as a "mutual decision" in June 2001.
Rose McGowan, who had suffered a string of box-office bombs at the movies, was added to the show as half-sister Paige Matthews — and later complained she "felt invisible" in what she described as "a very stressful environment."
Photo credit: Getty Images
But it wasn't all strife backstage on "Charmed" — with Alyssa and Holly finally becoming producers on the show in 2003. Then they fired the entire production crew, causing more talk of a cursed "Charmed" set. The fired crew didn't take much comfort in seeing key grip David Donoho land on his feet, either, as he married Holly the next year!
Photo credit: Getty Images
"He was bored with the show, anyway," Holly said. "He wanted to do movies." She was already pregnant with their first child, and the couple would have two more children before divorcing in 2011. The "Charmed" stars would finally find common ground after their show was canceled in 2006 — with all of them blasting their network.
"We were axed," said Holly. "Nobody ever asked if we want to keep doing this. They just let our contracts run out, and that was it." Alyssa declared she "wouldn't oppose" therapy to recover from her time on the show — adding that she was done with television, unless she was offered a show that "takes place in Hawaii!" Rose later revealed the show had already sent her into hypnotherapy.
Photo credit: Files/Getty
At least Holly beat the "Charmed" curse for another happy ending. The backstage drama couldn't break the bond that Shannen and Holly had since their teens — and the on-screen sisters even got together for a reality show in 2015. "Off the Map with Shannen & Holly" followed the gals on a road trip. Sadly, the six-episode series came to an end just as
Shannen began a battle against breast cancer.Photo credit: Getty Images
"Holly and Shannen were best friends for, like, 10 years before the show started," Alyssa complained in 2013, "so it was very much sort of like high school." Even then, Holly quickly went to social media to insist: "Working on 'Charmed' was nothing like high school." Shannen surprisingly stepped in as peacemaker, saying: "OK, gang, there's no drama. Let's not feed into it!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
