Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Shannen Doherty in Charmed (1998)
In her new memoir, actress Alyssa Milano is speaking about the infamous feud between herself and fellow Charmed actress Shannen Doherty, which led to the latter leaving their hit series after three seasons.
Charmed was a huge part of my childhood, and when I look back at the series, the first three seasons really shine as highlights of its eight seasons. Originally starring Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, and Milano, the show told the story of three sisters, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, who realize they are witches, the Charmed Ones, and are sent on a journey to protect the lives of innocents.
A much more romantic leaning sister show to Buffy:The Vampire Slayer, the series always had its issues, but one thing that I really enjoy is the really natural sisterly chemistry between the three leads. Their relationship felt lived in even from the first few moments. That chemistry always shocks me because, during production, there were issues between Doherty and Milano, a relationship Milano now says is “cordial.”
“I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had. I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about.” Milano said to ET’s Kevin Frazier while discussing her new book, Sorry Not Sorry. “I have some guilt about my part in that.”
From what we know of the feud, there was an ultimatum that Aaron Spelling had to choose either Doherty or Milano. He picked Milano, and the rest is history. Prue was killed off in the season three finale, and Rose McGowan was brought in as the long lost fourth sister to reform the power of three.
Since that time, the relationships between all the women have changed, but Milano did reach out to Doherty when she got diagnosed with stage four cancer.
“When I heard about her diagnosis, I reached out to her,” Milano said. “And I will send her DMs every couple of months to just check in.”
She went on to say, “I have respect for her. Great actress, loves her family so much, and I just wish I could’ve felt strong enough in who I was to recognize that back then.”
In reflecting on Charmed, the actress mentioned the lack of clothing the actresses wore—especially after season three.
“When I think about the ’90s…you watch reruns of Charmed, and I’m running around in like a bra and underwear for 80 percent of every episode,” Milano said. “We had to be scantily clad in order for that show to be a hit.”
Despite it all, Charmed has lived on and gotten a reboot with its own older sister existing issue. Must be something in that Book of Shadows.
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