Mr. Television
03-31-2006, 08:13 PM
Charmed Cast Blasts WB
Now that they're wrapping up the eighth and final season of The WB's Charmed, the show's cast and crew blasted the network's handling of the long-running supernatural series in interviews with SCI FI Wire. "We were never treated that well," star Holly Marie Combs, who plays Piper and became producer after the fourth season, said in an interview on the show's set in Los Angeles. "We were never promoted properly by the network. The only way we ever got a billboard on Sunset Boulevard was when Shannen [Doherty] called up and insisted." (Doherty, who played Prue Halliwell, left the show after three seasons.)
"Then, the network dishonors us by saying we were canceled, axed, cut," star Rose McGowan said. She replaced Doherty and stayed on for five seasons as Paige. "They asked me if I wanted to be a producer, too, and I asked if there was more money attached to that, and they said, 'No,' and I said, 'Forget it.' ... This last thing about being canceled seems like the last annoying pissing match going on with the show. It was extremely rude."
Both Combs and McGowan said that their contracts run out after the eighth season, and none of them had planned on returning anyway. "There was nothing to cancel," McGowan said. "They didn't have us. ... Instead, we continue to get treated like the ugly stepchild of the network. Anyway, I'm proud of what we accomplished."
Charmed made history as the longest-running TV series featuring multiple female leads, surpassing Laverne & Shirley by half a season. "No one expected us to last more than three episodes, and here we had ratings that were higher than Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] at times," executive producer Brad Kern said. "We had no lead-in show. We were moved around a lot, and it still lasted as long as it did."
Brian Krause, whose character, Leo, was cut last season due to budgetary concerns, will return for the finale. "I can't guess what Paramount and The WB were doing, whether it was money or whether they brought other characters in or whatever," Krause said. "I don't know if they were trying to groom talent to go on to something else. I don't know. For me, honestly, it turned out to be a blessing, really, to go out and work on my short movie and work on a couple of other projects. So they kind of did me a favor by being able to get out there and get into pilot season."
The final two-part episode will be shot through April 17 and will air on May 21. —Mike Szymanski
Now that they're wrapping up the eighth and final season of The WB's Charmed, the show's cast and crew blasted the network's handling of the long-running supernatural series in interviews with SCI FI Wire. "We were never treated that well," star Holly Marie Combs, who plays Piper and became producer after the fourth season, said in an interview on the show's set in Los Angeles. "We were never promoted properly by the network. The only way we ever got a billboard on Sunset Boulevard was when Shannen [Doherty] called up and insisted." (Doherty, who played Prue Halliwell, left the show after three seasons.)
"Then, the network dishonors us by saying we were canceled, axed, cut," star Rose McGowan said. She replaced Doherty and stayed on for five seasons as Paige. "They asked me if I wanted to be a producer, too, and I asked if there was more money attached to that, and they said, 'No,' and I said, 'Forget it.' ... This last thing about being canceled seems like the last annoying pissing match going on with the show. It was extremely rude."
Both Combs and McGowan said that their contracts run out after the eighth season, and none of them had planned on returning anyway. "There was nothing to cancel," McGowan said. "They didn't have us. ... Instead, we continue to get treated like the ugly stepchild of the network. Anyway, I'm proud of what we accomplished."
Charmed made history as the longest-running TV series featuring multiple female leads, surpassing Laverne & Shirley by half a season. "No one expected us to last more than three episodes, and here we had ratings that were higher than Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] at times," executive producer Brad Kern said. "We had no lead-in show. We were moved around a lot, and it still lasted as long as it did."
Brian Krause, whose character, Leo, was cut last season due to budgetary concerns, will return for the finale. "I can't guess what Paramount and The WB were doing, whether it was money or whether they brought other characters in or whatever," Krause said. "I don't know if they were trying to groom talent to go on to something else. I don't know. For me, honestly, it turned out to be a blessing, really, to go out and work on my short movie and work on a couple of other projects. So they kind of did me a favor by being able to get out there and get into pilot season."
The final two-part episode will be shot through April 17 and will air on May 21. —Mike Szymanski