Charmed is an American fantasy drama television series developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O'Toole, and Amy Rardin.

Urman explained that television viewers already "had a chance to see three white witches" on the original Charmed, and that she was adamant on developing a different version of the series in which people of color and the LGBT community could see themselves represented onscreen and "be the hero of the story".

[3] The series begins in the fictional college town of Hilltowne, Michigan, where sisters Mel (Melonie Diaz) and Maggie Vera (Sarah Jeffery) are living with their mother Marisol (Valerie Cruz), who shortly afterward is attacked and killed by an unknown dark force.

[4] Three months later, Mel and Maggie discover that they have an older half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Madeleine Mantock), who was kept a secret by their mother for years but recently moved to Hilltowne for a new job at the local university the sisters attend.

[8] By the end of the first episode, Macy moves into the Vera Manor and the sisters ultimately accept their new destiny as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches who protect both innocent lives and the world from demons and other dark forces.

[11][12] Additionally, the reboot has a more ethnically diverse cast: Mantock is Afro-Caribbean, Diaz is Puerto Rican, and Jeffery is African American, English and Indigenous Canadian.

[47] On January 5, 2017, it was announced that The CW network was developing a new reboot of Charmed by Jane the Virgin showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman for the 2017–18 television season.

[49] Urman, knowing that Jane the Virgin writers Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin were fans of the original series, brought them on board with her along with director Brad Silberling.

[49][50] On why she wanted to reboot the series, Urman explained: "The original was so much about female empowerment and sisterhood and strong women taking over the world and I feel like that's what we need right now.

"[51] On the reason they chose not to revive the series with the original cast, O'Toole explained: "That show wrapped everything up so wonderfully — they all got their happy endings, and there were even glimpses of their future.

[54] The CW reboot's original pilot script was going to be a prequel set in 1976 about three witches (Tina, Paige and Annie), who are not related but are brought together to fight evil in a small New England town.

[59] The redeveloped script was changed to be set in the present day and was described by The CW as "a fierce, funny, feminist reboot" centered on "three sisters in a college town who, after the tragic death of their mother, are stunned to discover they are witches.

"[59] O'Toole told BuzzFeed News that the reason the redeveloped script was changed to the present day was because of the results of the 2016 United States presidential election.

Covington was originally brought in as showrunner after Charmed was picked up to series, in order to help executive producers Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin, neither of whom had run a show before.

Following the change in showrunners, media outlets reported that the second season would lean harder into the supernatural storylines, with less focus on the family dynamics that Covington helped make.

[71] On August 27, 2021, TVLine reported that Lieber, Joey Falco, and Nicki Renna would take over as showrunners for the fourth season, while Kruger and Shapiro would remain on the show as executive producers.

[72] Renna commented that they are looking forward to taking "the show to places we've been wanting to, with storylines and emotional arcs that really excite us" and further added that the fourth season would focus more on stories about the sisters.

[21] TVLine also revealed that casting was underway for the trio's "devilishly handsome" advisor/whitelighter Harry, Macy's "documentary filmmaker-boyfriend" Galvin, Madison's "sensitive loner ex-beau" Brian, and Mel's detective girlfriend Soo Jin.

"[77] The lead actresses are of different ethnic backgrounds: Mantock is Afro-Caribbean, Diaz is Puerto Rican, and Jeffery is African American, English and Indigenous Canadian.

"[50] O'Toole also added that the decision to make the lead actresses non-white was one of the reasons the producers decided the show would not be based on the Halliwell sisters' children from the original Charmed series, who were all white.

[50] Executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman explained that "we've had a chance to see three white witches" and working on Jane the Virgin, which had a predominantly Latino cast, helped her realize the importance of representation and "what it's like to see yourself onscreen and see yourself be the hero of the story".

[86] Mantock spoke of her departure in a statement to TVLine, saying: "Playing Macy on Charmed for the last three seasons has been an immense privilege and I have so enjoyed working with our fantastic producers, creatives, cast and crew.

"[87] Showrunners Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro also told TVLine that they respect Mantock's decision to move on and that the door would always be "open for a return visit from Macy .

Showrunners Jeffrey Lieber, Joey Falco and Nicki Renna described Barrett's character as "an artist" who is "fun, irreverent, impulsive, strong-willed, and will bring a brand-new energy to the Power of Three".

[140] Combs also took issue with the network's description of a "feminist" reboot, which she felt implied the original series was not, by sarcastically tweeting: "Guess we forgot to do that the first go around.

"[144] However, Doherty admitted that she did take issue with The CW's description of a "feminist" reboot, by tweeting that their wording was "terrible and a bit offensive," but understood that "everyone makes mistakes".

[147] McGowan further voiced her support for the reboot on Instagram, posting "I wish nothing but the best for the new female actors whose careers hopefully will be launched by this show into something long and prosperous.

[140][144] Following the reboot announcement, fans took to Twitter and began to share the #StopCharmedReboot hashtag in attempts to prevent The CW from moving forward with the pilot.

[151][152] Milano also spoke up about the reboot again to Us Weekly in May 2019, stating that she felt the show "ruined any possibility" of a reunion between the four original lead actresses, calling it "disrespectful" and "sad" that they were not involved from the beginning.

"[156] Latina writer Samantha Chavarria of the website We Are Mitu felt that this news does "highlight the very real fact that in their effort to promote a reboot, the CW used colorism and exploitation to spark our excitement and interest.