Charmed Supa-Stars Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause were excited to meet fans at their exclusive panel together on the Friday of Brisnova. They played Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt respectively, a couple that have faced many hardships, including some magical mishaps.
Photo by Ali Stevenson
Did they know that Charmed would become a pop culture phenomenon? “No, we did not, I mean, we were hanging on by a thread while we filmed,” said Combs. “We never knew we were coming back. It lives on because of the fans, whether it be because you all have connected with each other at conventions, or because fans have forced close friends to watch it. There is a lot of you and we greatly appreciate it.”
Throughout the eight seasons of Charmed, Piper is on an intense journey with her sisters and magical ability. If Combs gained abilities, what would she choose? “Why change powers when you can blow things up?” she laughed. “I always say freezing time, because all three of my sons are home alone tonight, so I would like freeze time until I get back. Allegedly, I tried to blow up my husband in Pretty Little Liars; fans freeze framed me doing the hand gestures from Charmed.”
Speaking of Pretty Little Liars, where Combs played Ella Montgomery as part of the main cast, did she expect the show’s plot to be that twisty? “I mean, there was so many twists and turns. You never knew what to expect. But, my God, the girls were game for all of it,” she grinned. “We were discussing this when we had dinner with Nolan North, who played Spencer’s Dad, and he was like, ‘I didn’t know I had all those kids!’”
Charmed ended 19 years ago, back in 2006. Just like many other series, there are not many props and pieces left from the Charmed set. Which begs the question, what has happened to the coveted Halliwell Book of Shadows?
“So, the executive producer, Brad Kern, took the Book of Shadows, and was supposed to share it with Holly,” said Krause. “During the Palisades fires, the book didn’t burn, but the toxic smoke ruined the book. Producer James Conway had the stunt book.”
Combs interjected: “The stunt book is the version of the Book of Shadows that we threw around on set, unlike the real version that should have been locked in a safe, secured from fires.”
Krause assured fans: “I have the stunt book, and that’s safe in storage, it doesn’t have all the pages though.”
Photo by Ali Stevenson
The Charmed podcast, titled The House of Halliwell, launched back in 2022, features many of the cast and crew, including Combs, Krause and the late Shannen Doherty, who played Prue Halliwell. Combs reflected on the podcast and the passing of Doherty.
“It was tough for me to go back to it after Shannen’s passing; it was tough for me to even hear her voice, like on the TV when Charmed reruns are on,” she affirmed. “I couldn’t at that time, but I knew that she would want us to finish what we started, she was very excited to join the podcast. It pushed me back to work because she would say, ‘Back to work.’”
Doherty also directed several episodes of Charmed; Combs reflected on this. “She was so visually creative, she knew what she wanted to shoot and what equipment she needed to achieve that, and honestly, some of the shortest days filming were hers.”
She explained, “What we always tried to do with Charmed was make it grounded, to make it real and about family more than the fantastical stuff. What it does have is escapism and to be absorbed into another word.”
Combs and Krause nodded in agreement. “That sort of escape is very important, and equally as important as being grounded,” Combs concluded.
Lead photo by Ali Stevenson
