History Trivia / Charmed1998

** The three leads were initially good friends when the show started airing - enough that Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs were bridesmaids to Alyssa Milano's 1999 wedding. Tensions started when Alyssa Milano attempted to drive a wedge between Doherty and Combs while Combs was hospitalised with cancer during the second season. Both Doherty and Milano have stated that some days they would only speak to each other to say their lines. By the end of the third season, Doherty's character was KilledOffForReal. On her podcast in December 2023, Doherty revealed that she had gone along with the party line which was that she quit, when in reality, she was fired. Combs, also on Doherty's podcast in the same episode, got emotional when revealing that she had gone to the producers to say that she would not continue on the series without Doherty. They revealed that Alyssa Milano had put an ultimatum that either she left or Doherty was fired and threatened to sue the network citing a hostile work environment, if they did not fire Doherty. Combs added that this kind of threat wouldn't be considered legitimate today, referring to the post-#MeToo environment in Hollywood where people who are actually creating a hostile work environment, which Doherty did not do, are facing consequences. Doherty prefaced the discussion by stating that there is no animosity, but that she and Combs wanted to be truthful about why Doherty wasn't on the show after Season 3.

** The three lead actresses were initially good friends when the show started airing - enough that Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs were bridesmaids to Alyssa Milano's 1999 wedding. Tensions soon started surfacing between Shannen and Alyssa, both actresses admitting that some days they would only speak to each other to say their lines. By the end of the third season, the former exited the show to be KilledOffForReal. It's still unconfirmed whether she was fired or left on her own - and a rumor persists that both actresses offered an ultimatum that one of them would have to go (both have denied this however). Years later, she attributed it to a personality clash over both of them being promised the lead role in the series. Alyssa then admitted to feeling "like a third wheel", because the other two had known each other years in advance. In TheNewTens, in light of Shannen's cancer diagnosis, the two publicly put the past behind them. Holly also suggested that tension wasn't helped by the network's constant treating the show like an afterthought.
--> "We kind of already felt like we were already this step child/black sheep of the family, for some reason. We didn't know why, so we bonded over those first two years. We were struggling through changing producers, changing writers, the Network fighting our producers, them fighting for more money, but we had special effects, we had stunts, but we had this. It just became a grind and a factory, in the last year and the third year and the girls started to just go at it, and it was really difficult, and they really started to disagree on different things."
** Earlier in the first season, it was rumored that the reason TW King was written out was because he and Shannen Doherty didn't get along either. There were reports of her being "very pleased" when he was written out.

** Drew Fuller is likewise best remembered as Chris, with his only other notable role being in the Lifetime series ''Army Wives''.

** Drew Fuller didn't know that Chris was actually Wyatt's little brother until midway through Season 6. Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause didn't know either.

* TheWikiRule: The [[http://charmed.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Charmed Wiki]], and the [[http://charmedfiction.wikia.com/wiki/Charmed_Fiction_Wiki Charmed Fiction Wiki]].

* ActingForTwo: Michael Bailey Smith played Belthazor, the Source and a handful of other demons on the show.

* TalkingToHimself: Especially pronounced in the season 6 finale "It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World", where MirrorUniverse {{Evil Counterpart}}s of characters interact with good ones.

* [[TroubledProduction/{{Charmed|1998}} Troubled Production]]

* CreatorBacklash:
** The showrunners were annoyed by the network constantly using SexSells to promote the series, feeling they were misrepresenting it.
** Most of the skimpy outfits the sisters had to wear when transformed into various magical creatures. Alyssa Milano got the worst of it and said she hated dressing up in them - saying in 2021 that the skimpiness was the only way to keep the show on the air. The exception is the genie outfit (which she used a picture of for her official website). Likewise Creator/RoseMcGowan said "Nymphs Just Want To Have Fun" was her least favourite episode because of the nymph costume she had to wear. Alyssa did clarify in 2021 that the show's sex positivity was ultimately a good thing in her eyes.
--->"I hope we didn't make something that was 'bad for the world' for eight years. I think we gave permission to a generation of women to be themselves and to be strong and own their sexuality. I'm so proud of what this show meant to so many.”
** Holly Marie Combs had this about the famous "Coyote Piper" dance on the bar before she'd even shot it. She claims she had to be drunk while filming the dance.
** Holly also criticised how the show killed Prue off between seasons, saying "it was done very poorly in my opinion."
** Years later, Holly expressed frustrations with Piper's character around Season 5 and 6; feeling as though every other scene was her crying about Leo, and calling it "really exhausting".
--->"She became really exhausting around like season five, and so she mellowed out more by design and my needs ... But she was growing,"
** Rose [=McGowan=] really hated Paige's ReallyGetsAround behaviour in Season 5 - where she would be seen with a different guy every week. The main reason being that she disliked having to film these raunchy scenes with actors she had literally just met. This resulted in long term love interests like Richard Montana, Kyle Brody and Henry Mitchell. She later took the time to complain in her autobiography about the lack of female crew members compared to males, on a show about female empowerment.
--->"Only one female director was hired in the entire five years I was there, and the crew sank her. This was a show about three young women, and they had not in all the time I was there had a female director...I feel horribly about not fighting for her more, but I didn't fully understand the dynamics of what was happening. My character was too busy talking to leprechauns to have the time."
** Brad Kern regrets not including a photo of Prue in the finale.
** Krista Vernoff, who was a writer and producer until the end of Season 5, described "A Witch's Tail" as the episode that was the last straw for her. The blatant {{Fanservice}} of Phoebe turning into a mermaid with scales barely covering her nipples saw a spike in male viewers, and it led to the network trying to find more ways to get the three leads into similar outfits. Although she left at the end of the season primarily because needed to grieve for her father, the increased reliance on {{Fanservice}} was a deciding factor.
** Creator/ScoutTaylorCompton, who played Thistle the fairy princess, mentioned on her ''Talk Scary to Me'' podcast that she didn't enjoy her time on the show. Although on the ''House of Halliwell'' podcast, Holly Marie Combs recalls her approaching her at a convention and saying it was a "great experience".
** Brian Krause wasn't happy with the 'Leo gets frozen' arc in Season 8, since it was him being written out for ten episodes due to budget cuts. No one else in the cast and crew was happy with it either, and they all took pay cuts to allow him to come BackForTheFinale.

* TroubledProduction:
** Holly Marie Combs talks about the hectic shooting schedule in the first season on her ''House of Halliwell'' podcast; as other Aaron Spelling shows filmed each episode in a seven day period, ''Charmed'' initially did as well. It soon became clear that all the stunts, special effects and wardrobe changes required meant that continuing on such a tight schedule was impossible - with shooting days sometimes lasting eighteen hours, and the episode "Wicca Envy" requiring an absurd amount of eye lights to hide how tired the actors looked on camera. Eventually they added an extra day to the schedule, meaning an episode would now be filmed in eight days.
** The studio was constantly fighting with the network over things like changing producers, changing writers and the network not giving the money required for all the stunts and special effects. The three lead actresses initially bonded through the struggle, but by the third season, Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano "started to just go at it" (according to Holly Marie Combs). Shannen Doherty also decided she wanted to leave as early as the middle of Season 3, but was told that she wasn't going anywhere because she was under contract. However, she was fired while they were on hiatus between seasons.
** Holly Marie Combs initially was ready to leave with her, but was warned she'd be sued if she tried. A condition for her staying was a pay rise and promotion to AndStarring in the credits (Alyssa Milano now taking first billing). She's said this was motivation behind her becoming a producer in Season 5; to prevent similar things from happening again.
** Earlier in Season 1 Ted King's departure was rumoured to be because Doherty didn't get along with him either. Other rumors say he left to pursue other projects, or wanted more screen time but producers couldn't think of ways to use him.
** Constance M Burge left after Season 2 after protesting the upcoming Cole storyline. She had CreatorBacklash about the season-long love triangle between Piper, Dan and Leo - and didn't want another love story. She remained on as Executive Consultant until Season 5.
** Creator/RoseMcGowan signed on to play Paige, not expecting to be around very long. Needless to say, she didn't foresee sticking around for five more years. She's been quoted as saying "every year ''Charmed'' would get renewed and each year I would cry." Likewise she was fed up at Paige being Flanderised into ReallyGetsAround and complained to producers about it. She later revealed that she was told she had signed for two seasons. When the ratings went up, they turned around and told her she had signed for five.
** The actresses got fed up with the increasingly {{Stripperiffic}} outfits the sisters would be forced to wear (and writer Krista Vernoff even partly left the show over this in Season 6). Alyssa Milano has gone on record to say how much she hated dressing up in them. Before the eighth season, they went to producers and protested. The series' costume designer for six years was fired and replaced. This was also a partial reason for Billie's introduction - as they required a new MsFanservice.
** For the final season, the network slashed the budget in half. Dorian Gregory had to be PutOnABus and Brian Krause had to be written out for ten episodes. The network also demanded lots of new characters - hence Billie, Christy, Henry, Coop, Dex and Agent Murphy. Additionally Creator/ShannenDoherty was not asked to appear in the finale and the budget was so tight, they couldn't even use a picture of her (which would have cost around $8000). Notably the final shot of the series - the manor door closing - is actually the end shot of the Season 4 finale re-used. The budget was ''that'' tight.
** Years after the show ended, reports came out about sexual harrassment and lewd comments in the writers' room. Brad Kern, who took over from Season 3 onward, was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards female employees too, including making fun of Alyssa Milano when an illness caused her to gain weight, showing off Shannen Doherty's ''Playboy'' photoshoot in front of everyone and told writer Krista Vernoff in front of the whole writer's room "I bet you're good in bed" (she left when her contract ran out, preferring "the uncertainty of staffing season", despite the pay rise she was offered). Co-executive producer William Schmidt was fired after only being on the show a few months, and he suspects the reason was confronting Kern about his behaviour towards women.
** Alyssa Milano claims that there was no on-set producer from about Season 5 onward, so she and Holly Marie Combs took on that role in addition to acting. She has described the process as "hectic", claiming it would be nearly impossible to get the showrunners on the phone to verify dialogue changes.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Constance M Burge's original concept for the series was just about three roommates who become witches. The network didn't think that witchcraft was a bankable enough concept, and so the main characters were changed to sisters in the hopes that the family dynamic would draw in viewers.
** Shannen Doherty initially passed on the pilot script when it was sent to her. A friend convinced her it was worth a second look and "made me watch ''Film/PracticalMagic''", and Shannen signed on. The friend was Holly Marie Combs, who the network initially didn't want because she was an unknown. Feeling Holly was perfect for the role of Piper, Shannen threatened to quit unless they cast her.
** Additionally, Aaron Spelling wanted Shannen Doherty to play Piper and Holly Marie Combs to play Phoebe (she is actually the youngest of the three initial leads). Holly felt more drawn to Piper, and Shannen to Prue, and they actually had to show him their driving licenses to prove they were old enough to play those roles.
** The opening was going to place Alyssa Milano's AndStarring credit at the end, after Dorian Gregory (Darryl). They then decided that the three sisters would be billed before the supporting cast, and this tradition continued when Holly Marie Combs was given the AndStarring from Season 4 onward.
** Rex was intended to be American, and Hannah would be British, but it ended up switched around.
** Jennifer Rhodes says that she was initially only contracted to play Penny Halliwell for two episodes, "Is There a Woogy in the House?" and "That 70s Episode". She ended up appearing in sixteen across the series, and being the only actor to appear as a guest star in all eight seasons.
** Melinda Warren was intended to make more appearances, but Tyler Layton just wasn't available.
** Creator/MishaCollins, who appeared in the episode "They're Everywhere", later revealed that his character was intended to be a recurring love interest for Phoebe. He didn't appear again because "they thought I was terrible" (it was one of his first TV gigs). He and Phoebe also filmed a kiss scene that was very obviously cut from the episode.
** Julian [=McMahon=] was contracted for a seven-episode arc as Cole, presumably writing him out after "Sleuthing With the Enemy". Brad Kern however was so impressed with him that he was kept around through Season 5.
** Creator/TiffaniThiessen (who had replaced Shannen on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'') and Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt were approached to become TheOtherDarrin for Prue. After they both declined, producers decided to create a new character. Rose [=McGowan=] however was always the first choice for Paige.
** A rumor was that Brian Krause wanted to leave after Season 5, citing burnout and the character subsequently becoming an Elder in the finale. Other sources say he wanted a pay rise for Season 6, and the plan was to write him out as a regular and have him only make recurring reappearances as a spirit guide.
** In late 2013, soon after news of the reboot series was announced, Creator/AlyssaMilano sent out a tweet that floated the idea to her costars of doing a ''Charmed'' reunion movie. Creator/ShannenDoherty responded in the affirmative, also retweeting a fan suggesting funding the project through Kickstarter. After the success of the ''Film/{{Veronica Mars}}'' movie through Kickstarter, the possibility is there.
** It wasn't just Alyssa, Shannen also had many problems with the producers of the show, due to creative differences; the same reason that led to creator Constance M. Burge leaving. It was rumoured that Andy was killed off because TW King didn't get on with Doherty either - though other sources say he wished to pursue other projects or asked for more screentime and producers couldn't find anything for him.
** Jesse Woodrow was meant to play the Prince in "A Knight To Remember" as well, implying that the prince was Glen's past life. He refused.
** After Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano were made Producers for season 5, Creator/RoseMcGowan was offered the position too. She declined, saying that the only thing that changed was her name appearing twice in the credits. Although since there was no on-set producer from Season 5 onward, Alyssa and Holly filled those roles themselves.
** The original storyline for Season 5 would have had Paige and Cole start a relationship. In the premiere when Paige casts the spell on Cole, he would have kissed her passionately under the influence. Both actors disliked the idea and it was dropped.
** Greg Vaughan was asked to come back for guest appearances in the last couple of seasons and he was happy to, but he was on another show at the time, and the network just wouldn't allow him to, even when they were being shot on the same lot.
** Chris was originally conceived of as being future Wyatt when he appeared in the Season 5 finale. However, the showrunners changed their minds and decided he would be Piper and Leo's second son, because it was less obvious, before Season 6 was filmed. Contrary to urban myth, the change was not made because Creator/HollyMarieCombs got pregnant; her pregnancy just caused Chris to be born earlier than planned and made him look dumb for nearly preventing his own birth. He was also never going to be Phoebe and Cole's son as another rumor would have it.

* ProducedByCastmember: Creator/HollyMarieCombs and Creator/AlyssaMilano both became producers around season four. Rose [=McGowan=] was offered the role too but declined, saying that the only thing that would have changed is "my name appearing twice in the credits".

* CreatorChosenCasting:
** After the [[ExecutiveMeddling network-mandated]] Lori Rom dropped out of the role of Phoebe, it was offered to Alyssa Milano straight away, who of course accepted.
** Finola Hughes didn't have to audition and was offered the role of Patty immediately.
** Rose [=McGowan=] was the first and only choice for Paige. She was unsure of whether to take the role but, on the plane to meet with Aaron Spelling about the role, she found the first episode among the watch options and took it as a sign (according to her, she had never seen ''Charmed'' to watch on a plane before and hasn't since then).
** Kaley Cuoco was offered the role of Billie based on her work in the sitcom ''Series/EightSimpleRules''.

** Julian [=McMahon=] was contracted for a seven episode arc as Cole, presumably writing him out after "Sleuthing With the Enemy". Brad Kern however was so impressed with him that he was kept around through Season 5.

** Cole was scripted to appear for seven episodes. But Julian [=McMahon=]'s charisma, and the popularity of the Phoebe and Cole storyline led to him becoming a regular.

** Julian [=McMahon=] was contracted for a seven episode arc as Cole, presumably writing him out after "Sleuthing With the Enemy". Brad Kern however was so impressed with him that he was kept around until Season 5.

* ActingInTheDark: Drew Fuller didn't know that Chris was actually Wyatt's little brother until midway through Season 6. Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause didn't know either.

** Creator/ScoutTaylorCompton, who played Thistle the fairy princess, mentioned on her ''Talk Scary to Me'' podcast that she didn't enjoy her time on the show.

** In 2013 Shannen Doherty claims that she was asked to appear in the finale but turned it down - not liking what they wanted to do with Prue. This is in spite of others claiming she wasn't even asked beforehand.

* ProducedByCastmember: Creator/HollyMarieCombs and Creator/AlyssaMilano both became producers around season four.

** Years after the show ended, reports came out about sexual harrassment and lewd comments in the writers' room. Brad Kern, who took over from Season 3 onward, was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards female employees too.

** In a fan Q&A, Holly Marie Combs was asked which of Piper's outfits were her favourite. She responded that she "hated them all", especially the famous Coyote Piper one.

** Billie was not intended to headline a spin-off, and Brad Kern said years later that, while the idea may have been in the writers' minds, it was never more than talked about casually. The main reason for Billie's introduction was to a) give the three leads less stunt work to do, and b) fulfil the {{Fanservice}} requirements that the others were getting sick of doing.

** Victor Bennett was played by Tony Denison for his first appearance, and Creator/JamesRead in all subsequent ones. They also played him rather differently - Denison's Victor was more confident, while Read tended to play Victor as someone in over his head in magical matters.

** Lady Godiva is played by Kristen Warren, who is American, but had played an English character on the sitcom ''Series/USAHigh'' too. In the same episode Lord Dyson was played by Maury Sterling, who is American.

* CreatorsPest: Brad Kern viewed Chris this was in Season 6, and toyed with various possibilities and backstories for the character so that many of his early episodes were written without any clue of the direction his character was to go in.

* DawsonCasting: Albeit a minor one. Phoebe and Paige are younger than Piper, but their actresses Alyssa Milano and Creator/RoseMcGowan are older than her actress Creator/HollyMarieCombs.

* FriendshipOnTheSet: Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty had been friends for years when they played Piper and Prue, and it was Holly who even convinced Shannen to sign on in the first place. They remained friends for years but admitted to losing touch in the 2010s.

** One of the biggest rumors from the set was that either Shannen Doherty or Alyssa Milano offered an ultimatum that one of them would have to go at the end of Season 3. Both actresses denied it, and the former maintains that she was actually pushing for Prue to be killed off.
** A persistent rumour was that Chris was originally intended to be Phoebe and Cole's KidFromTheFuture - a highly unlikely scenario, considering both characters' lack of whitelighter powers (Phoebe's literally the only sister he definitely ''couldn't'' be descended from). Brad Kern denied it in TheNewTens and insisted that he always was intended to be Piper's son, calling Holly Marie Combs's pregnancy "convenient timing".

** Holly Marie Combs initially fell into this too, but rebounded thanks to her role in ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars''.

* DawsonCasting: albeit a minor one. Phoebe and Paige are younger than Piper, but their actresses Alyssa Milano and Creator/RoseMcGowan are older than her actress Creator/HollyMarieCombs.

** Creator/DanielleHarris describes her time on the show as being miserable, saying that the three leads were "always fighting". On her podcast, she says that Alyssa Milano would tell her what to do, but didn't clarify if that meant trying to direct her or just bossing her around. Shannen Doherty was also very mean to her in particular, and it only increased when a crew member she'd previously dated started flirting with Danielle to get back at her. She later said she was glad Aviva wasn't brought back, as she didn't know if she could return to that set.

** Season 7 brough us [[Series/NewlywedsNickAndJessica Nick Lachey]], then at the height of his reality tv fame thanks to his marriage to Jessica Simpson, as Leslie St. Claire, a ghostwriter for ''The Bay Mirror'' who had [[SatelliteLoveInterest little characterisation]] outside of a lukewarm and ultimately pointless romance with Phoebe.

** Season 8 also brought us Jason Lewis of ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' fame as the equally despised Dex Lawson, yet another short-term boyfriend for Phoebe. Despite being even featured in the promotional shots for the season, Dex [[FlatCharacter barely had any character to speak of]], was practically interchangeable with last season’s Nick St. Claire, lasted only a handful of episodes, his romance with Phoebe was [[StrangledByTheRedString forced]] and even more passionless than Nick’s, he contributed absolutely nothing to the plot and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking didn’t even]] [[MrFanservice take his shirt off]]. Fans consider him a waste of screen time that could have been devolved to Phoebe regaining her love for magic instead – or if anything, at least for an earlier introduction of the better-received Coop, her final love interest and eventual husband who suffered from a last-minute addition.

** Earlier in the first season, it was rumored that the reason TW King was written out was because he and Shannen Doherty didn't get along either.

* TheOtherMarty: The unaired pilot had Lori Rom and Chris Boyd playing Phoebe and Andy, respectively. It did its job to get the show picked up, so it was re-shot to pad it out and with Alyssa Milano and T.W. King in their respective roles.

** Creator/ShannenDoherty had an infamous amount of tension with Alyssa Milano during filming. Reportedly during season 3, the actresses would only speak to each other to say their lines. It's unknown the reasons for her departure after the third season; some say she was fired for the on set tension, but she herself has said she was actually pushing for Prue to be killed off, feeling she'd run her course as a character. Whatever the reason, she was killed off between seasons, and the show could never use her image again. Similar issues with that led to the first three seasons taking longer to come out on DVD.

** The actresses got fed up with the increasingly {{Stripperiffic}} outfits the sisters would be forced to wear. Alyssa Milano has gone on record to say how much she hated dressing up in them. Before the eighth season, they went to producers and protested. The series' costume designer for six years was fired and replaced. This was also a partial reason for Billie's introduction - as they required a new MsFanservice.

** Rose [=McGowan=] hated both the woodnymph dress and the Greek Goddess outfits from Season 5.

** The three lead actresses were initially good friends when the show started airing - enough that Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs were bridesmaids to Alyssa Milano's 1999 wedding. Tensions soon started surfacing between Shannen and Alyssa, both actresses admitting that some days they would only speak to each other to say their lines. By the end of the third season, the former exited the show to be KilledOffForReal. It's still unconfirmed whether she was fired or left on her own - and a rumor persists that both actresses offered an ultimatum that one of them would have to go (both have denied this however). Years later, she attributed it to a personality clash over both of them being promised the lead role in the series. Alyssa then admitted to feeling "like a third wheel", because the other two had known each other years in advance. In TheNewTens, in light of Shannen's cancer diagnosis, the two publicly put the past behind them.

** Creator/ShannenDoherty had an infamous amount of tension with Alyssa Milano during filming. Reportedly during season 3, the actresses would only speak to each other to say their lines. It's unknown the reasons for her departure after the third season; some say she was fired for the on set tension, but she herself has said she was actually pushing for Prue to be killed off, feeling she'd run her course as a character. Whatever the reason, she was killed off between seasons, and the show could never use her image again. Similar issues with that led to the first three seasons taking longer to come out on DVD. Holly Marie Combs initially was ready to leave with her, but was convinced to stay with a hefty pay rise and promotion to AndStarring in the credits (Alyssa Milano now taking first billing).