The originalCharmedseries focused on the three Halliwell sisters, Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). However, Doherty was unceremoniously killed off in theSeason 3 finale, bringing in the long-lost Halliwell sister Paige (Rose McGowan) to take her place within the Power of Three. Her job was to strengthen the sister bond and connection between the sisters as one of “The Charmed Ones”.
Itcame as a shock forCharmedfans to lose one of the sisters, especially since Doherty had such a following from her time as Brenda Walsh on the massively successful teen dramaBeverly Hills: 90210. It was alwaysrumored that drama behind the scenes was the cause for Doherty’s early exit, but nothing had ever truly been confirmed as to what that was exactly. At least, until now.
On Doherty’s podcast“Let’s Be Clear”, she revealed the real reason she was fired from the series to herCharmedco-star Combs, and it all had to do with their other co-star, Milano. According to Doherty (perHuff Post),Milano gave the producers an ultimatum between the two women. And once production decided to fire Doherty, her team went into serious damage control, “My representatives, I remember them looking at me at the time and said, ‘No, no, no,your career won’t survive another firing[Doherty was also fired from90210], so we’re just going to say that you chose to leave.'" Reflecting on this time, Doherty says that even she didn’t believe the cover-up as she questioned ‘Who is going to believe that I’m crazy enough to leave a hit show?'”
What Was the Feud Between Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano About?
According to Doherty, she can’t quite recall a moment that turned her relationship sour with Milano, but she remains adamant that she was nothing but professional with her co-star when they filmed together, stating that, “I don’t ever remember being mean to [Milano] on set." However, tensions were so high between them thateven Combs recalls when production acknowledged the alleged ultimatum, sharing on the podcast a conversation she had withCharmedproducerJonathan Levin, “He said, you know, ‘We’re basically in a position where it’s one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] that it’s [Shannen] or me, and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment,’” she recalls. However, upon reflection, Combs doesn’t believe that a lawsuit would have held merit as there were never any “brawls” or “harsh words” said on set between the two stars.
In aprevious podcast with Combs, Doherty has often questioned if the anger towards her was misplaced jealousy, as she was originally marketed asthe star ofCharmeddue to her popularity. “I was cast first, the show was originally sold to the WB based on me,” Doherty said. “But once those magazine covers started happening, and one person is being asked and the other one isn’t … I felt like … the competitiveness was kicking in.” According to Doherty,Combs was caught in the middlewith both sides trying to pull her away from the other.
After Doherty left the series,Charmedran for another five seasons. A reboot series ran on the CW for four seasons before beingcancelled. The originalCharmedis streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.
Charmed (1998)
Three Halliwell sisters discover that they are descendants of a line of good female witches and are destined to fight against the forces of evil, using their combined power of witchcraft known as the “Power of Three.”
