Charmed

‘Charmed’ a reboot of the late 90s show was released in 2019 with a new cast, new plot lines but also a lot of overlap in narrative, mythos and setting. The story is of three sisters who are witches with the special "power of three." The first big difference is the move from three visually "white" American actors to three mixed-heritage women representing Hispanic and Black American culture. The show also introduces the white-lighter as head of Women’s Studies (a controversial cis-male), a lesbian relationship, a 28 year old virgin and a stereotypical teen wanting to join the Greek systems at her college. From the start the line up is unusual and (from my perspective) wonderful.
The new ‘Charmed’ is also engaging in some interesting, and timely conversations, around women’s rights, identity, gender, white privilege, rape culture, race identity, transhumanism and more.

But is this a deep engagement with the important conversations that need to be happening, or is this simply a response to popular culture and trending?
A deep analysis of the new show would be beneficial to help examine if this TV show is moving towards culturally responsible storytelling or cashing in on hashtags.

‘Charmed’ is a tv show that spanned from 1998 to 2006 following the lives of sister witches that vanquish demons. The show remains a popular choice for reruns and still has a strong following. Although in no way original in plot, lore or dialogue it has remained an enduring favourite. I would argue that in many ways, similar to ‘Supernatural,’ the show’s popularity is based not on the genre but the relationship between the sisters and the drama inherent in their lives. An interesting discussion would be to look at the comparison of the fantasy genre elements to the drama elements to see what truly is the appeal of this show.