Top 10 Differences Between Charmed Reboot and Original

The original incarnation of the three witchy sisters that make up the Charmed Ones had another friend that accompanied them on their magical adventures long before they even met their Whitelighter. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe had a furry companion by the name of Kit the Cat, a familiar who helped to guide them on their magical journeys for the first few seasons of the show, and was later turned human as a reward for her actions. New sisters, Mel, Maggie, and Macy, have yet to come across any such creature, but who knows, maybe they will encounter their own Kit Cat as the reboot continues to develop.

Though this is no devastating change to the story, it does change the dynamics of the show. In the original series, the sisters are already navigating their adult lives before discovering that they are witches. In the new series, the youngest of the three, Maggie, is just starting college at the beginning of Season One, Mel is a grad student and Macy is in her late 20’s. It may not seem like a major change, but the change does shift the tone of the show no matter how slightly. As does the change in the show’s location from the big city of San Francisco to the fictional Hilltowne. This change happened probably, in part, to appeal to the CW’s younger audience.

The new version of this classic show comes complete with some new magic rules. Just like Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, Mel, Maggie, and Macy had this wonderful and terrifying fate thrust upon them. The difference is that the original sisters didn’t get a choice in the matter. They are the chosen ones, and that is that. But the new sisters get to decide to either deny their magic, and go back to their regular lives, or take on the responsibility of the Charmed Ones. In the original, the sisters reluctantly accept their destiny, but Mel, Maggie, and Macy actively choose to take on the challenge.

Accompanying some new magic rules, are some new magical powers. For two thirds of the sisters, their powers are mostly similar to their alternate series counterparts. Mel can freeze time like Piper. Macy has telekinesis like Prue. But Maggie’s powers are quite different from Phoebe. Phoebe has the ability to see premonitions of the future, which is often what jump-started the original Charmed Ones’ adventures. But Maggie is an empath, which means she can read people’s emotions. Though Maggie’s powers do occasionally guide the Vera/Vaughn sisters’ actions, they do not serve as the same catalyst that Phoebe’s do. We’re not saying one is better than the other, this just another interesting difference that makes the reboot stand out.

One of the most interesting changes the Charmed reboot has brought to the table is the use of science. The oldest sister, Macy, is a scientist and works in a lab. And despite discovering her own magical powers, she is still quite the skeptic. So, whenever the concept of magic becomes too overwhelming, she relies on her logical mind to help her make sense of it all. This adds a new element to the story, that wasn’t present in the original; showing science and magic not as two opposing forces, but rather as two sides of the same coin.

Though most of the changes the reboot has made have been welcome additions to a “Charmed” for a new generation, this one is, let’s say questionable. In the original, the Halliwell sisters found the Book of Shadows by accident and had to discover their powers on their own long before their Whitelighter revealed himself. In fact, a major plot point of the first season was all about the Halliwell sisters suddenly having these new powers and figuring out what to do with them. Though the Vera/Vaughn sisters definitely struggle with navigating their powers after finding out about them, there isn’t too much mystery to the magic. Their Whitelighter, Harry, just orbs into their lives one day and spills the beans.

While the Halliwell sisters performed their witchy ways through a series of rhyming couplets, they are replaced with Spanish spells for the Vera/Vaughns. The rhyming is a huge part of the original show’s signature and adored campiness, and was perhaps changed to align more with the CW’s darker, edgier tone. More importantly, this change pays homage to the Vera/Vaughn sisters’ Hispanic and Latino heritage. Though their differences sometimes seem greater than their similarities, their culture is something that they always have in common. So, though we do miss the fun of the rhyming incantations, these new spells make the bond between the sisters even stronger, and therefore, are a welcome change. At least in our book.

One of the main differences between the original “Charmed” and the reboot is that the new series starts with only two sisters. The Halliwells are slightly estranged when we first meet them, but they all grew up together. In the reboot, however, Macy finds her long lost half-sisters well into the pilot episode and has to be introduced into an already existing dynamic. A parallel can be drawn, though, to Paige Matthews. After Prue’s death, the original Halliwells also eventually discover an additional sister that they spent the majority of their lives unaware of. The reboot jumps right in with its version of this storyline, introducing a completely different family dynamic from the original.

Speaking of the change in family dynamics, both sets of sisters are drastically affected by their mother’s death. In the original, the mother died when they were young, and they were raised by their grandmother. In the reboot, Mel and Maggie lose their mother right at the beginning of the show. We even get to see her in the first bit of the pilot. But Macy never even gets to meet her. For both the Halliwells and the Vera/Vaughns, their mother plays a huge roll in their lives even after her death. But while the loss of their mother serves as a source of much of the Halliwell’s estrangement in the beginning, the loss is what brings the Vera/Vaughns together as sisters.

One might argue that the Halliwell’s race was just not important to the plot, but the reboot makes an active choice to include the Vera/Vaugns Latino culture as a part of the story. Whether it be through the use of Spanish spells, or Maggie finding out that she is half black, the Vera/Vaughn’s culture is an important part of the show. It is a uniting force in their lives. More than that, there are many POC and LGBT characters, as well as interracial relationships. In addition, all of the strong female characters with male counterparts who are not threatened by their power provide a wider range of representation than the original show ever did.