Charmed

Charmed
Genre	Supernatural Drama
Created by	Constance M. Burge
Starring	Shannen Doherty (1998-2001) Holly Marie Combs Alyssa Milano Rose McGowan (2001-2006) Brian Krause Dorian Gregory Julian McMahon Drew Fuller Kaley Cuoco
Opening theme	"How Soon Is Now?" by Love Spit Love
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	179 (including the unaired pilot) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Brad Kern Constance M. Burge (1998-2000) Aaron Spelling E. Duke Vincent
Running time	40-45 min.
Original release
Network	The WB
Release	October 7, 1998 – May 21, 2006

Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998 until May 21, 2006, when its network, The WB, ceased operation. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M. Burge and was produced by Aaron Spelling and his Spelling Television company, with the show runner being writer-director Brad Kern.

The series narrative follows the four Halliwell sisters, Prue, Piper, Phoebe and, later, Paige, the culmination of the long Warren line of powerful, good witches. The sisters, despite being perceived as normal by the non-supernatural community, are known as The Charmed Ones, whose prophesized destiny is to battle against evil beings, such as demons and warlocks, in order to protect innocent lives from being endangered. Each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve, while they also attempt to hold normal working lives in San Francisco. Keeping their paranormal identities separate and secret from their ordinary lives forms part of the series' tension and challenges, with the exposure of magic having far-reaching consequences on relationships and has resulted in a number of police and FBI investigations throughout the series.

The premiere episode, "Something Wicca This Way Comes", pulled in 7.70 million viewers, breaking the record for the highest rated debut for the WB network. This went unchallenged until the series premiere of Smallville in 2001, when it premiered with an audience of 8.40 million viewers. In January 2006, producer Brad Kern declared that Charmed was the longest running hour-long series featuring all female leads (The Facts of Life being a 30 minute sitcom). The series finale, "Forever Charmed", ended with a season high of 4.49 million viewers.

Production

Development

In 1998, the Warner Brothers Television Network began searching for a new high concept drama series, and looked to Spelling Television, which had already produced the network's most successful series 7th Heaven, to create it and follow up with their success. Expanding on the popularity of supernatural themed dramas, the production company explored different forms of mythology in order to find mythological characters they could realise with contemporary storytelling. Their chosen theme was witchcraft, which had become popular during the decade with films such as The Craft.

In order to begin creating the series, Constance M. Burge was hired as the creator as she was under contract with Spelling Television after having conceived the drama Savannah. When the theme of witchcraft was first pitched to her, she was aware only of the preconceived stereotypes of witches (flying brooms, black cats, and warts). After heavy research into Wicca, she discovered that the reality differed immensely from her notions and instead, she aimed at telling a story of witches who were both good, and looked and acted like ordinary people. With this, her initial concept was a series set in Boston, Massachusetts about three friends and roommates who were all witches. However, executive producer E. Duke Vincent lacked confidence in the idea and asked "why would anybody want to watch a show about three witches?" He proposed that the series focus on family values and developed the series-long mantra of it being about "three sisters who happen to be witches, not three witches who happen to be sisters." Aaron Spelling warmed to Burge's ideas and, after the concept was revised to a series about three sisters (now living in San Francisco) descended from a long line of witches, it was pitched to the WB's Susanne Daniels, who liked it immediately, allowing the series to begin development.

Shannen Doherty, having already worked with Spelling on the series Beverly Hills 90210, auditioned and won the role of Prue Halliwell.

Doherty's best friend, Holly Marie Combs, who was known as Kimberly Brock, from the series Picket Fences, got interested in the script and won the role of the middle sister Piper Halliwell; although auditioning for the role of Prue Halliwell. While Doherty had come in wanting to play Piper Halliwell. Combs hadn't wanted to come back to television, wanting a break after five years of playing Kimberly Brock, but because of Shannen's involvement, she came back, and she loved it. Having an actress of such fame was a key factor in the series' success.

The series was titled Charmed, after Spelling's suggestion of House of Sisters was dropped, and the three lead roles were cast to Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Lori Rom. Constance M. Burge wrote the script for the pilot, and they filmed a 28 minute version (the so-called "unaired pilot," which has never been aired on network television) with which the series was picked up by the WB. The majority of the pilot had to be refilmed after Lori Rom quit and Alyssa Milano took her role.

A week before the updated pilot, Something Wicca This Way Comes was meant to air, the WB developed concerns about the entire series and considered pulling it. Spelling Television forced it to go ahead. Upon its debut, Charmed received massive ratings — the largest for a series premiere in the network’s history — and massive Internet attention with dozens of websites focusing on the series, and the beginning of the show's cult fan base. The complete first season of twenty two episodes was picked up by the WB after only two had aired; the first time such an event had occurred so quickly in all of Aaron Spelling's long and award-winning career.

Executive producers

The two original executive producers from Spelling Television were its creator Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent, both of whom maintained their role until the series ended in 2006. Constance M. Burge also became an executive producer when she was hired to create the series and write the pilot. After the short "unaired pilot" was shown to the WB, and the series was picked up by the network, Brad Kern was recruited as the fourth executive producer and as the show runner in order to decipher how the series would develop over the course of its run. While Kern remained with the show until its end, between the second and third seasons, Constance M. Burge left her position of executive producer. Instead, Burge remained as executive consultant until the end of season four when she left Charmed permanently.

Writing and format

Script writing was done by a large number of writers. Brad Kern did the most writing with a total of 26 episodes, as well as directing one of them. The writers with the most writing credits other than Kern include: Daniel Cerone, Curtis Kheel, Zack Estrin, Chris Levinson, Krista Vernoff, Sheryl J. Anderson, Monica Breen, Alison Schapker, Cameron Litvack, and Jeannine Renshaw. The series creator, Constance M. Burge, also wrote 7 episodes for the first and second seasons before leaving her position as executive producer.

Script writing was carried out after group brainstorms took place, discussing the events of the episodes, the emotions of the characters, and the mythology involved. Robert Masello, an executive story editor for the series, credits himself as the only demonologist hired for a series, in order to add his experience to the storyline.

Charmed is the only show that has a licensed fully bonded demonologist, which is me, on staff and as a result because I've written books about demonology and the occult of witchcraft, I'm there to answer questions about how a demon would behave.

However, as Holly Marie Combs revealed in The Women of Charmed documentary, the series aimed at following a mythology created by fantasy, and not adhering to Wiccan rules too closely, for fear of coming under criticism for either not being "technically correct enough," or missing the truth completely.

Between the second and the third season, creator and executive producer Constance M. Burge left the crew of the show, leaving her former position to executive producer Brad Kern. Burge continued to produce other shows, but remained as creative consultant until season four. Burge's departure resulted in changes in the story structure of the show, from a "demon of the week" system to using third- or half- season-long story arcs. In addition, more importance is given to the protagonists' personal lives.

The serial connection of episodes culminated in the second half of season four. Despite the ratings increasing during season four's final story arc from 4.19 to 4.21, the WB asked Brad Kern to abandon the serial system in the future. This led to the largely episodic structure of season five, and resulted in the two systems being balanced from the sixth season onwards.

Logo and symbols

File:Charmedlogo1.jpg

The first logo used by The WB Network to promote the series. It was replaced during the third season.

During the show's run, the WB Television Network used two official logos to represent the series. The first was used during the first and second seasons and featured the name Charmed underlined and with a triple-aspect symbol above it. The second logo was introduced at the start of the third season and remained until the series ended. It was written in a different font and is still underlined and sometimes featured a triquetra above the name. This logo was designed by Margo Chase. Although the second logo replaced the first in all promotional material by the WB, such as posters and television adverts, the first remained to be used on official merchandise well after the third season, including on the covers of the novel series, the DVDs and the official Charmed magazine.

Music

The Charmed theme song, "How Soon Is Now?" also appeared on the soundtrack album TV Themes: Popular Favorites, released by the St. Clair record label on September 6, 2005, as well as its follow-up TV Themes: Sex and the City and Other Favorites, on August 30, 2005. It also appeared on Your Favorite Television Themes, released by Artemis Strategic on June 7, 2005. In all three cases, the song appeared in its full-length version of 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

Plot synopsis

Overall

Charmed is the story of the three Halliwell sisters, Prue, Piper and Phoebe, discovering that they are the world's most powerful good witches, The Charmed Ones; each gifted with innate magical powers they must collectively use to defend the "innocents" of San Francisco from demons, warlocks and other evil beings. During their fight against the forces of evil, eldest sister Prue is killed, breaking the united Power of Three. However, the Charmed triple-destiny is restored with the introduction of a long-lost fourth half-sister, Paige Matthews, who is half-witch and half-whitelighter. During Seasons One to Four, the sisters' combined destiny was to vanquish the Source of All Evil, the ruler of the Underworld, and his demonic minions. Upon fulfilling their primary destiny, the Charmed Ones engaged in the Ultimate Battle; and ushered in the next generation of good witches. The Charmed Ones were also the guardians of the Nexus and in order to vanquish the demon Zankou they had to destroy the Nexus where Zankou had taken refuge. On top of their supernatural lives, the four sisters must also contend with serious issues in the real world (such as relationships, careers, marriage, childbirth, illness and death), as well as preventing the exposure of magic, the subject of several police investigations throughout the series.

The Power of Three

"Before Melinda was burned at the stake, she vowed that each generation of Warren witches would become stronger and stronger, culminating in the arrival of three sisters [...] the most powerful witches the world has ever known."

Phoebe Halliwell, "Something Wicca This Way Comes" (series premier)
(Written by Constance M. Burge)

The story of Charmed begins with the three Halliwell sisters — Prue, Piper and Phoebe — coming back together six months after the death of their grandmother, Template:Chrmdchar because the disrespected and picked upon youngest, Phoebe is moving back (unannounced) into the family Manor in San Francisco. When the lights suddenly go out during an afternoon storm the two older sisters head for the fuse box, but the youngest sister stimulated by the family spirit board goes to the attic instead and discovers an ancient book bathed in an ethereal light — the Book of Shadows. Reading an incantation from it to herself out loud in the dim light, she unwittingly sets in motion events that fulfill an ancient prophecy. Strange and harrowing occurrences begin which eventually lead the sisters to realize that they are witches.

The Charmed Ones

They discover that they not only possess supernatural powers, but also come from a long line of powerful witches. The first in the line, Melinda Warren, possessed the power to freeze time, move objects with her mind and see the future. Melinda was burned at the stake in the Salem Witch Trials. (In reality, no one was burned at the stake in Salem). However, before she died, Melinda prophesied that each coming generation of Warren (later Halliwell) witches would grow stronger and stronger, culminating in the arrival of three sisters—the strongest good witches the world had ever seen; the three sisters would form The Power of Three, the most powerful magical force ever.

A central theme throughout the show's run is the sisters' struggle to balance their normal lives with their supernatural responsibilities. The burden of keeping their destinies a secret from the outside world repeatedly creates tensions in their friendships, workplaces, and romantic relationships. Only a few know their secret and help them on a regular basis. The most important is Leo Wyatt, a Whitelighter assigned by the Elders to guide and protect the sisters. Leo means a great deal to the sisters both professionally and personally: he heals their wounds, advises them collectively and individually, and mediates between them and the enigmatic Elders. He also becomes the love of Piper's life, her husband and the father of her children. Others who keep the Charmed Ones' secret over the years include police inspectors Andy Trudeau and Darryl Morris, tormented half-demon Cole Turner, the mysterious time-traveler Chris Perry, sisters Christy and Billie Jenkins, Paige's husband Henry Mitchell, and the many other creatures in the magical community.

Mythology

In the first three seasons, the magical world of Charmed introduces original concepts such as the spiritual nexus and the workings of the show's witchcraft, and involves creatures such as Whitelighters and Darklighters, and also a number of mythological creatures not frequently adapted to television, such as the Woogyman, the Wendigo or the Banshee. This is probably attributable to Constance M. Burge, as well as story editor Robert Masello, introduced as the show's mythology expert (as seen in the 1999 documentary Women of Charmed).

In the third season, it was revealed in order for adults to see fairies, they must cast a spell or believe in fairies and be sprinkled with fairy dust. However, after this point, the Charmed Ones were able to see fairies without the aid of the spell or the dust, including Paige, who never had the spell cast on her (at least, not on-screen).

Gradually from the fourth season, besides keeping the dominance of creatures with attributes explicitly created to conform to the storylines, Charmed started to rely more heavily on using creatures from classical (i.e., Greek and Roman) mythology as well as from miscellaneous folklore items well-known in contemporary culture, such as leprechauns and dwarves.

Characters

Main article: List of Charmed characters

Main protagonists

• Prudence "Prue" Halliwell – (Shannen Doherty) (Seasons 1–3) 67 episodes

Born October 28, 1970, Prue is the eldest Halliwell sister. Born with the power of telekinesis, she later manifests the astral projection ability. Prue handled her power of telekinesis so well that she was often reffered to as a super-witch. Strong-willed, feisty and intelligent, she would often take charge of situations and has always been overprotective of her two sisters, Piper and Phoebe. Having spent her childhood taking care of her two younger sisters after the death of their mother, she became responsible, with a fierce determination at whatever she did, including fighting demons. This sense of responsibility occasionally leads to clashes with the more free-willed Phoebe, but the two grow closer as the series progresses. Though at times Prue lets pride dictate her way of handling things, she never lets her personal life interfere with her work life. On May 17, 2001, 3 years new to the craft she is killed by Shax, a demonic assassin sent by the Source of All Evil. While in the episode "Death Takes a Halliwell" the Angel of Death foreshadowed Prue's death, "All Hell Breaks Loose" remained as a cliffhanger. Prue's death is only established in the premiere episode of the Fourth Season, "Charmed Again". Shannen Doherty never appeared on-screen as Prue again, except in the fifth season episode "Cat House", during the "flashbacks" that the girls visit, though Prue's face is never shown, only her back, and due to the fact the scene was on a motorcycle, it has been disputed that it was a stunt double. Even in the after life Prue still helps her sisters, it has been suggested that she sometimes turns the pages of the Book of Shadows, and in the season seven finale Prue lends her astral projection power to the sisters. This is indicated by Piper saying "Thank you, Prue," after the spell's effect is over.

• Piper Halliwell – (Holly Marie Combs) (Seasons 1-8) 179 episodes

Born on August 7,1972 and is the middle child. Upon Prue's death, she assumes the role as the oldest. Her powers include the ability to freeze and 'blow up' objects at will. She is most concerned with having a normal life, and always has reservations about her life as a Charmed One. When she first becomes a Charmed One, she is quiet and reserved, often having to mediate between Prue and Phoebe. As the show progresses, she gains a stronger persona and takes more authority after Prue dies. She eventually becomes the mother of two sons and a daughter, Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda, with her husband Leo Wyatt, and goes to great lengths to protect her children. In the series finale, the final montage shows her with a granddaughter. Her love of food steers her to a career in the culinary, which leads her to open her own club, and as revealed in the last episode, her own restaurant.

• Phoebe Halliwell – (Alyssa Milano) (Seasons 1-8) 178 episodes

Phoebe, born November 2, 1975 is the baby of the family and is a spontaneous, free-spirited young woman. She was born as a witch with the power of premonition, which enabled her to see into the past as well as the future. This later allows her to project herself into the future and the past. She later gains the powers of levitation, which she often combines with her martial arts skills, and the power of empathy but later loses the latter two due to misusing them for personal gain. She is a romantic, and later becomes a successful columnist and author. Early on, she often had a turbulent relationship with her older sister, Prue; later she mediates between Piper and Paige. Her longest relationships are with Cole Turner for over 2 years and had a son with him but his evil friend took him away, and with Coop. In 2006, the Angel of Destiny marries Phoebe and Coop, as seen in the series finale, and they eventually have three daughters. She continues to work at the Bay Mirror and writes a book on finding love. Originally, Lori Rom was cast as Phoebe in the unaired pilot episode of Charmed. When the property was green lighted to go to series, Rom was unavailable. Producer Aaron Spelling called upon Alyssa Milano, fresh off her short-term guest appearance on Melrose Place to fill the role. Major portions of the first episode were re-shot, some scenes rewritten and new scenes added to create a full one-hour debut episode titled "Something Wicca This Way Comes". Phoebe has been called by some demons (like the Source) that she was the weakest Charmed One because of her powers, mostly passive, being the weakest out of the four.

• Paige Matthews – (Rose McGowan) (Seasons 4–8) 112 episodes

Born on August 2, 1977. After a secret love affair with her Whitelighter Samuel Wilder, the Charmed Ones' mother, Patty Halliwell, gave birth to a fourth daughter. In fear of their daughter's safety, Paige was orbed to a church and entrusted to the arms of a nun named Sister Agnes, who was told she'd be in grave danger otherwise. Sister Agnes later in "Charmed Again (Part 2)" described Paige— to the troubled Paige further investigating her origin while being manipulated by the Source of All Evil— as having come from Angels because she'd witnessed the white sparkling twinkling cloud of motes of light characteristic of the common whitelighter teleporting (Orbing). As a baby, she was adopted by the Matthews, and grew up as an only child unaware of her magical roots. While in school, Paige would often get into trouble. Her parent's died in a car accident, Paige was in the car but she orbed, saving herself but not her parents, (She found out that she orbed the Season 4 episode A Paige from the Past). Her personality is bold and vibrant, adding a new dynamic to the show from Season 4 onwards. Paige's birth power is actually Teleportation, even though the series' writers and fans tend to mistake it for telekinesis, because she is part Whitelighter. They believe that Paige's teleportation is telekinetic-orbing, an ability that combines with her natural orbing to create telekinesis. She comes into the craft quickly, aiding in the vanquish of The Source of All Evil. In Season 8, she gains the ability to heal those she loves, starting with Henry. She is driven to become a "full-time witch", and has a hard time finding a career she is content with, eventually settling with her destiny as a Whitelighter, like her father. After the death of Gideon, Paige begs the Elders to keep Magic School open. They agree only if Paige becomes the headmistress and runs the school to guarantee the students' safety. Eventually, she resigns; handing the role onto her brother-in-law Leo Wyatt. Paige marries mortal parole officer Henry Mitchell and they have twin daughters and a son, Henry Jr.

Supporting

• Leo Wyatt – (Brian Krause) (Recurring Season 1 and season 8 finale ; Seasons 1–8 in first half)

Leo is the sisters' Whitelighter in the beginning, and soon becomes romantically involved with Piper. Leo's magical promotions provide the show's portrayal of a supernatural ladder of success and struggle between career and family. His relationship with Piper is the first of many conflicts between the Halliwells and the Elders.

• Andy Trudeau - (Ted King) (Season 1 cameo in 7)

Andy is the sisters' childhood friend and Prue's love interest for many years. In the episode "that 70s episode" we see a young Piper use her powers to freeze a young Andy. He serves as the sisters' initial connection to the police force once he learns of the girls' activities, as well as the first conflict between the girls' secret and normal lives. The demon Rodriguez kills Andy while he is trying to protect the girls in the finale of season one. Two years later, in the finale of season 3, Prue is killed by the demon Shax, and is assumingly reunited with Andy. The character of Andy Trudeau was originally played by actor Chris Boyd.

• Darryl Morris – (Dorian Gregory) (Seasons 1–7)

Darryl, who is Andy's partner, takes over the role as the Halliwells' police connection after Andy's tragic death. He continues to cover up for the sisters once he learns their secret, even after the events which lead to him almost being executed through a lethal injection, if reluctantly, until his wife later forces him to move to the east coast. After almost being executed, he expresses his desired uninvolvement with the sisters angrily and refuses to talk to them, answer calls or help them get police files. However, he finds out the Charmed Ones were willing to give up their powers to save him and realizing how much good the sisters do for the community, Darryl forgives them and he still considers them family. Darryl Morris didn't exist in the unaired pilot.

• Dan Gordon – (Greg Vaughan) (Season 2)

Dan moves into the house next door with his niece, Jenny, and instantly falls in love with Piper. They temporarily date, but Dan cannot take the place of Piper's first love, Leo. He later moves away, at the end of season two.

• Jenny Gordon – (Karis Paige Bryant) (Season 2)

Jenny is Dan's niece. Jenny disappeared at the episode 9, Ms. Hellfire, where Dan said that Jenny returned to her parents.

• Cole Turner – (Julian McMahon) (Seasons 3–5, cameo in 7)

Cole is Phoebe's first husband; he is a half-demon, creating situations over which the sisters clash. He is originally a powerful villain, later taking other forms and roles throughout his character's history. After his final vanquish at the hands of the sisters, he continues to watch over Phoebe, silently and unseen.

• Chris Perry Halliwell – (Drew Fuller) (Season 6, recurring in 5, 7 & 8)

Piper and Leo's unborn son, Chris Halliwell, commonly known as Chris Perry for the year and a half of his time with the sisters, came from the future to help defeat the Titans and save young Wyatt from turning evil. His adult form dies at the hands of Gideon just before he is born. He later reappears twice, once in Someone to Witch Over Me and again in the series finale. Phoebe finds out Chris is actually Leo and Piper's younger son in The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell.

• Billie Jenkins – (Kaley Cuoco) (Season 8)

Billie is Paige's charge. While at first over-confident in her abilities, she eventually becomes a student of the sisters, helping them to maintain their normal lives. After being swayed by her sister Christy to betray the Halliwells, Billie eventually sides with them in the series finale and is forced to kill her sister in self-defense.

Recurring

See also: List of Charmed characters

• Penelope "Penny" Halliwell – (Jennifer Rhodes) The sister's grandmother.
• Patricia "Patty" Halliwell – (Finola Hughes – Seasons 1–5, 7-8) The sister's mother.
• Samuel Wilder – (Scott Jaeck – Seasons 2, 5 & 8) Paige's father and Patty's whitelighter.
• Victor Bennett – (Tony Denison – Season 1) (James Read – Seasons 3-8^a) The sister's father (except for Paige).
• Utility Demon — The Source, Belthazor, Shax, Janor the Grimlock – (Michael Bailey Smith – Seasons 3–4)
• Bob Cowan – (David Reivers - Seasons 4–5)
• Elise Rothman – (Rebecca Balding – Seasons 1; 4–8^b)
• Sophie – (Amanda Sickler – Seasons 5–8)
• Sheila Morris – (Sandra Prosper – Seasons 5–7) Darryl's wife.
• Jason Dean – (Eric Dane – Seasons 5–6)
• Little Wyatt Halliwell – (Jason & Kristopher Simmons – Seasons 5–8^c) Piper's older son.
• Older Wyatt Halliwell – (Wes Ramsey – Seasons 6–8) Piper's older son.
• Little Chris Halliwell (Seasons 7-8) Piper's younger son.
• Inspector Sheridan – (Jenya Lano – Seasons 6–7) Darryl's partner.
• Coop (Charmed) – (Victor Webster) (Season 8) Phoebe's cupid and future husband.
• Christy Jenkins – (Marnette Patterson) (Season 8) Billie's older sister.
• Henry Mitchell - (Ivan Sergei) (Season 8) Paige's husband.

Notes

^a Anthony Denison originally played the Halliwells' father in the first season episode "Thank You for Not Morphing". This episode establishes that the character's name is Victor Halliwell. This was later refuted by the end of the first season when, in "That 70's Episode", it is noted that Halliwell is in fact Patty's maiden name. Victor's name was changed to Victor Jones in the family tree in season two's "Pardon My Past", and then finally to Victor Bennett in season three.

^b Rebecca Balding also played Aviva's Aunt Jackie in the season one episode "The Fourth Sister". From season four onwards, Balding portrayed Phoebe's boss and friend Elise.

^c Only officially credited in one season seven episode, "Imaginary Fiends", and from the season eight episode "12 Angry Zen" onwards.

Episodes

Main article: List of Charmed episodes

The series began its first season on October 7, 1998 and aired for eight years until its finale on May 21, 2006. During its eight seasons, 178 episodes were aired, making Charmed the longest running hour-long television series with all female leads. The series ended when its American network, The WB, was shut down in order for it to merge into a new network station. Each season consists of 22 episodes with the exclusion of the fifth and sixth seasons which contain 23 episodes including their double-episode premiers and double-episode finales.

Specific Charmed episodes are detailed in the following by-season articles:

• Charmed (season 1)
• Charmed (season 2)

• Charmed (season 3)
• Charmed (season 4)

• Charmed (season 5)
• Charmed (season 6)

• Charmed (season 7)
• Charmed (season 8)

Distribution

Initial broadcast

The series was originally shown on the WB television network in the United States and on CTV in Canada, with independent station SunTV (originally Toronto 1) picking up the show's 8th season after CTV decided against continuing its broadcast.

Currently, the show is licensed to a number of networks in North America, with the major carriers being TNT and for a while on Canada's Showcase Diva. TNT airs four different episodes each weekday at 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. EST. Charmed is also shown in Canada on Cosmopolitan TV, every day, different times each day.

Multimedia

Main articles: Charmed multimedia and List of Charmed books.

U.S. ratings

Charmed proved to be a success early on, the shows' premiere episode "Something Wicca This Way Comes" pulled in more than 7.7 million viewers; and the show was ranked the #1 rated show on The WB network (tied with Dawson's Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) with an average of 5.5 million viewers per episode. The show also was extremely successful during its second season with an average of 4.8 million per episode and again tying with Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the #2 slot; during the shows 3rd season again placed 3rd with an average of 4.9 million per episode.

Timeslot changes

The show witnessed multiple changes in its timeslot. From its initial Wednesday night, Charmed moved to Thursday nights in Season Two, and starting with Season Five it moved again, this time to Sunday nights, to anchor "The WB's Big Sunday" event. The change in broadcast day played a central role in the show's change of ratings, as from the moment Charmed moved to Sunday, its episodes had to continually compete with other strong-rated shows such as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Simpsons, as well as events such as the Golden Globes.

Season	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Viewer Rank (#)	Network Rank (#)	Viewers (in millions)
1st	October 10, 1998	May 26, 1999	1998-1999	118	1	5.5
2nd	September 30, 1999	May 18, 2000	1999-2000	120	2	4.8
3rd	October 5, 2000	May 17, 2001	2000-2001	117	2	4.9
4th	October 4, 2001	May 16, 2002	2001-2002	129	6	4.2
5th	September 22, 2002	May 11, 2003	2002-2003	128	4	5.1
6th	September 28, 2003	May 16, 2004	2003-2004	154	5	4.3
7th	September 12, 2004	May 22, 2005	2004-2005	132	7	3.5
8th	September 25, 2005	May 21, 2006	2005-2006	132	7	3.5
1st-8th (average)	October 10, 2009	May 21, 2011	1998-2011	128	4	4.4

Online

TNT has released full episodes of Charmed for viewing with their "DramaVision" video player on the network website. As of February 14, 2009, the new TheWB.com website (Web streaming successor to Warner Brothers or "The WB") TheWB.com did not offer the shows.

International syndication

Outside of North America, Charmed is broadcast in a high number of other countries and television networks, each with their own schedule for the series, and sometimes with their own title for the series. In the United Kingdom, the entire series aired on the digital network Living TV and on the terrestrial channel Five from 2000 until 2006, when Channel 4 purchased the rights to air the final season on its T4 scheduling slot.

Other countries where Charmed airs include the following:

Country / Region	Name	Television Network	Dubbing / Subtitles
Argentina	Charmed	Sony Entertainment Television	Spanish subtitles
Austria	Charmed - Zauberhafte Hexen (English: "Charmed - Magical Witches")	ORF1, ProSieben Austria	German
Australia	Charmed	TV1, Austar, Foxtel, Channel Ten	None
Belgium	Charmed	Kanaal Twee	Dutch subtitles
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Čini (English: "Spells")	PINK BH	Bosnian subtitles
Brazil	Charmed	Sony Entertainment Television	Portuguese subtitles
Bulgaria	Чародейките"((Charodeikite); English: "Charmed")	Diema	Bulgarian
Croatia	Čarobnice (English: "Sorceresses")	Nova TV	Croatian subitiles
Denmark	Heksene fra Warren Manor (English: "The Witches from Warren Manor")	TV3	Danish subtitles
Estonia	Võluvägi (English: "Witchcraft")	Kanal 11	Estonian subtitles
Finland	Siskoni on Noita (English: "My Sister Is A Witch")	Nelonen	Finnish subtitles
France	Charmed	M6, Téva and W9.	French
Germany	Charmed - Zauberhafte Hexen (English: "Charmed - Magical Witches")	ProSieben,Kabel Eins	German dubbing
Greece	Οι Μάγισσες (English: "The Witches")	Star Channel	Greek
Hungary	Bűbájos Boszorkák (English: "Charming Witches")	TV2	Hungarian
Indonesia	Charmed	SCTV	Indonesian
Ireland	Charmed	TV3	None
Italy	Streghe (English: "Witches")	FOX, Rai Due	Italian dubbing
Latin America	Charmed	Sony Entertainment Television	Spanish subtitles
Lithuania	San Francisko Raganos (English: "Witches of San Francisco")	LNK (Season 6), TV1 (Season 5)	Lithuanian dubbing
Macedonia	Волшебнички (English:"Charmed")	А1	Macedonian subtitles
Malaysia	Charmed	Ntv7	Bahasa Malaysia subtitles
Malta	Charmed	Living TV	None
Mexico	Hechiceras (English: "Witches")	XHGC 5	Spanish
Netherlands	Charmed	NET 5	Dutch subtitles
Pakistan	Charmed	Star World	None
Poland	Czarodziejki (English: "Witches")	Polsat	Polish
Portugal	As Feiticeiras (English: "The Witches")	AXN	Portuguese subtitles
Philippines	Charmed	Studio 23	N/A
Russia	Зачарованные (IPA: [zətɕɪˈrovənnɨjə], "Charmed")	STS	Russian voice-overs
Singapore	Charmed	MediaCorp TV Channel 5	Chinese subtitles
Serbia	Čari (English: "Charms")	Pink	Serbian subtitles
Slovakia	Čarodejnice (English: "Witches")	Markíza	Slovak dubbing
Slovenia	Čarovnice (English: "Witches")	Kanal A	Slovenian
South Africa	Charmed	M-Net Series, SABC 3	None
Spain	Embrujadas (English: "Bewitched")	Telecinco (first running), Cuatro (re-running), Cosmopolitan	Spanish dubbing
Sweden	Förhäxad (English: "Bewitched")	TV3	Swedish subtitles
Switzerland	Charmed - Zauberhafte Hexen (English: "Charmed - Magical Witches")	ProSieben Schweiz, SF2	German
Taiwan	聖女魔咒 (English: "Divine Girls & Magical Spells")	AZIO TV, CTV	None, Traditional Chinese
Thailand	N/A	True Series	Thai subtitles
Turkey	Charmed	DiziMax	Turkish
United Arab Emirates	Charmed	MBC 4	Arabic subtitles
Ukraine	Всі Жінки Відьми (Vsi Zhinki Vidmi, English: "All Women Are Witches")	1+1	Ukrainian voice-overs
United Kingdom	Charmed	Five (seasons 1-7), Channel 4/T4 (Season 8) & Cable: Trouble, Living TV (Seasons 1-8)	None
Vietnam	Phép Thuật (English: "Magic")	Terrestrial: VTV1, VTV3 Cable: VCTV7	Vietnamese dubbing
New Zealand	Charmed	Free to air:TV3 (First Running), Cable:Sky1 (Re-runs) (Seasons 1-8)	None

External links

• Charmed at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Charmed Fanclub