It’s been twenty years since audiences were first introduced to Piper, Prue and Phoebe Halliwell, the three witchy sisters at the center of the then-WB network’s Charmed. Now the CW is rebooting the series and it’s been announced that Nuyorican actress Melonie Diaz will lead this new incarnation of witches.
The remake is being helmed by Jane the Virgin showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman and it’s unclear how connected it will be to the original series. Right now we know Diaz plays Mel, a “passionate, outspoken activist” dealing with her life in the wake of an unknown tragedy. TVLine reported that the casting breakdown included a part for Mel’s girlfriend, leading many to believe that her character is a lesbian. The show is officially described as following three sisters who learn they’re witches while dealing with demons, “demolishing the patriarchy” and squabbling with each other. Like Snyder Urman’s other series, this incarnation of Charmed is set to be “fierce, funny” and feminist. Right now the only other cast member known other than Diaz is Ser’Darius Blain, who will play the boyfriend of Mel’s sister, Macy.
This new version of Charmed should fill the void of witch-centric content for the CW after they lost out on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Netflix. Diaz looks to be entering territory laid out by Snyder Urman’s other television muse, actress Gina Rodriguez. Diaz has cultivated a strong body of work since breaking out in the 2002 film Saving Victor Vargas. Since then she’s had memorable turns in Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station and the HBO anthology series Room 104. This year alone Diaz stars in three projects: the Amazon Studios action film Gringo, the franchise prequel The First Purge, and All About Nina.
The Charmed casting process continues for the pilot, and it likely will be months before we know if the series is greenlit.