Moderator: Chief Couch Potato Kylie

THE SPECS:

Who: “Charmed (2018)” is an American fantasy drama and reboot of the 1998 series of the same name, which previously aired on fall to spring Fridays on the CW; it is currently on extended hiatus (due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and will be moving to Sunday nights when Season 3 premieres.

What: Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin, Charmed (2018) is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, which was created by Constance M. Burge and which originally aired from 1998 to 2006 on the CW and its predecessor network.  The series follows the lives of three sisters—Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz), and Maggie (Sarah Jeffery)—who, after the death of their mother, discover that they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, destined to protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces. Each sister has an individual magical power, which is noticeably stronger when all three sisters work together as the “Power of Three” to defeat their enemies. The sisters are aided by a Whitelighter, Harry Greenwood (Rupert Evans), an advisor who protects and guides witches.

When: Season 1 aired from October 14, 2018, to May 19, 2019, on the CW with a total of 22 episodes.

Where: In Season 1, the show is set in the fictional college town of Hilltowne, Michigan.

Why: Listen to the podcast episode linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Charmed (2018).

How – as in How Was It?

The pilot/premiere rating scale:

***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING.  HOLY SMOKES!

**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing.  I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.

*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens.  There are things I like, and things I don’t.  We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.

** – I will give it three episodes.  Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together.  No matter how unlikely.

* – Pass on this one, guys.  It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.

Charmed (2018) = 2.7, by average of the podcast panel.

SYNOPSIS

The series begins with sisters Mel (Diaz) and Maggie Vera (Jeffery) living with their mother Marisol, who is attacked and killed by an unknown dark force. Three months later, Mel and Maggie discover that they have an older half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Mantock), who was kept a secret by their mother for years but who recently moved to Hilltowne to accept a new job at the local university. The sisters unexpectedly start exhibiting new magical abilities the first time they are together in the same room: the eldest Macy receives the power of telekinesis, middle sister Mel can freeze time, and the youngest Maggie can hear others’ thoughts. Soon afterward, their Whitelighter Harry (Evans) gathers all three sisters together and reveals to them that they are witches, as was their mother, and that Marisol bound her daughters’ powers when they were each born to protect them and to let them live normal lives but was in the process of unbinding their powers on the night she was murdered. The sisters ultimately accept their new destiny as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, who protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces.

How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS

Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for awhile now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A couple of years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. We Looked Back at Charmed (1998) last week. To catch up on that episode, listen here:

The Charmed Series, Part One: Looking Back at Charmed (1998)

This week, in keeping with the spirit of Marcel’s original suggestion and in light of Charmed controversially undergoing the reboot treatment, our Charmed Series panel – namely Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and Michael – returns to the Water Cooler to continue its magical journey. Tonight, however, we start our Look Forward “Around the Water Cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the second episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, wherein we recap and review Season 1 of Charmed (2018), in all of its messy, slow-to-start, and somewhat awkward glory. Because the “OG” Charmed might be gone but is never forgotten, in this episode, our panel also engages in a semi-formal debate, CPU! style, wherein we compare characters, story lines, and other elements of the original Charmed to those of the rebooted Charmed in one of our spicy “Vs” discussions! It’s the kind of talk that is sure to resonate with the many vociferous Charmed fans out there, of then and now, since our panel’s opinions vary so widely among the five of us alone.

This podcast episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points of the first season of the rebooted Charmed series. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!

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Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, we’ll return to our Charmed series “Around the Water Cooler” a final time for the year when our magical Charmed panel returns to discuss Season 2 of the CW’s 2018 Charmed reboot (because the panelists actually all kept watching). Stay tuned!

RECOMMENDATION

Charmed (2018) is not recommended by any member of our panel currently, at least upon finishing the first season. Most of the panelists see the rebooted Charmed as an entirely inferior product compared to its predecessor; the more forgiving of our panelists, namely Jeremy, stated very clearly that he needed to see more of the recent incarnation before he could affirmatively and definitely recommend it. Four out of five of our panelists adamantly believed that, to the extent that Charmed can be recommended to anyone – and it would have to be the type who generally enjoys the magical, the fantastic, and the formula so often found on shows produced for the CW – the original Charmed was the only way to go in good recommending conscience, even as all five panelists appreciated the modern context and the inclusive casting and concepts underlying the reboot. Panelist Sarah, easily the most vocal naysayer of our five, indicated that she would only likely recommend this series to someone if she “didn’t like the person” – or, at least, to someone who generally likes CW shows who has little to no expectations about the quality of what they are sitting down to watch.

Further, the panelists unanimously observed that this reboot suffers from some drastically uneven performances, with some players (Mantock, Evans) being more convincing than others (Diaz); from inconsistent writing; from poorly executed special effects; and from poor story pacing, to the point that the first fifteen episodes of Season 1 felt like needless filler, while the real story, or the most engaging parts of it, kicked in around Episode 15 or so. Still, like the show from whence it rebooted, every one of our Charmed panelists views Charmed (2018) as more of the same pure candy fluff representative of the superior original version. With the problems presented by the reboot, however, in terms of the production and performance quality as well as an unusual number of growing pains for a show that was controversially rebooted from another established series that ended relatively recently, our panelists are not so sure that this new iteration of the Power of Three will set you free. Take that for it’s worth, gentle listener, even if what it’s worth is but a casual mention in your personal TV-related Book of Shadows.

THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW

The CW renewed Charmed (2018) for a third season, which is slated to premiere in January 2021 due to a delay in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though an official third season premiere date has not yet been announced at the time of this publication.  CPU!’s next Charmed Series episode, which will focus on Season 2 of the reboot, will be published next week! Until then…stay tuned!

As a footnote, and unfortunately, contrary to what I, your Chief CP, said at the end of tonight’s episode, as of this month, the original Charmed was removed from Netflix, given that its contract with the streaming service elapsed. The rumor is that it will be moving to NBC’s streamer, Peacock. If it’s there, give us a shout, or say a little spell.