Don’t bash it ‘til you try it! That’s the motto for the new women of The CW’s Charmed. Us Weekly caught up with Madeleine Mantock, Melonie Diaz and Sarah Jeffrey, who are taking on the roles of Macy, Mel and Madison, respectively, ahead of the network’s Upfront presentation on Thursday, May 17.
“When we were cast, we went to work and shot it. That is our reality, so there’s not too much focus on the original. Of course we respect it, and I’m confident that it will remain intact and can be still enjoyed by everybody who really cherishes it,” Mantock, 28, told Us exclusively on the red carpet. “They’re very different entities. We want to honor what the original Charmed had and did but we’ve very much got our own thing going on.”
“It’s so well loved and such a classic,” Diaz, 34, added.
When the remake was announced, it received a bit of backlash from original star Holly Marie Combs, who tweeted in January that she wasn’t into a reboot. “Here’s the thing. Until you ask us to rewrite it like Brad Kern did weekly don’t even think of capitalizing on our hard work. Charmed belongs to the 4 of us, our vast amount of writers, crews and predominantly the fans. FYI you will not fool them by owning a title/stamp. So bye,” she wrote at the time.
Combs played Piper Halliwell in the original series about a group of sisters who discover they are witches. Charmed aired aired on The WB from 1998 to 2006 and also starred Alyssa Milano, Shannen Doherty and Rose McGowan.
The CW president Mark Pedowitz is hopeful critics will give the show a fair chance. “Hopefully they would give this new cast a chance. It is not quite the same, yet there are many similarities. Hopefully they’ll give it a shot,” he told reporters on a conference call Thursday morning. “We are happy with who we cast, we think it’s a nice mix. We’re thrilled that Jennie Snyder Urman has reimagined it somewhat and I can only say to fans: Before you make a decision, watch the series.”
As for what the new cast would tell fans of the original who are skeptical, Jeffrey noted that they get it. “We understand that you loved the original, but give us a try. You may like it,” the 22-year-old said.
“We come in peace,” Mantock added.
Charmed airs on The CW on Sundays in the fall.