Holly Marie Combs learned firsthand that not all young TV casts are created equal after starring on both Charmed and Pretty Little Liars.
Combs, 51, revealed during the Sunday, March 30, ‘90s Con Charmed reunion panel that the young stars on PLL were more mature than she and former Charmed castmates Rose McGowan, the late Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano.
“You know what, it was kind of a mirror experience,” Combs told fellow panelist McGowan, 51, and fans of her time on PLL, when she played mom Ella Montgomery.
Combs joked, “I got to watch the girls go through a lot of what we did, and they were far more professional than we were.”
The actress played level-headed middle sister Piper Halliwell on Charmed from 1998 to 2006. When the CW series began, Doherty played older sister Prue Halliwell, while Milano, 52, played the wild younger sister Phoebe Halliwell.
The three stars were all in their 20s when the show started, which seemed to be the timeframe Combs was commenting on. (Doherty died in July 2024 at the age of 53 after battling cancer.)
McGowan joined Charmed in 2001 during season 4 as the long-lost half-sister of the Halliwell line, Paige Matthews, after Doherty’s exit. She too was in her 20s when she teamed up with Combs and Milano to help fight evil and keep the power of three intact.
When Combs was cast on PLL, she was in her late 30s but was supposed to be the mother of teenage daughter Aria Montgomery, played by Lucy Hale. The young cast also included Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell, Troian Bellisario and Sasha Pieterse, who ranged from their late teens to early 20s to start the Freeform series.
Despite being technically too young to have a teen, Combs said it was a “great” transition going from Charmed to PLL, which aired from 2010 to 2017.
Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs proved to be so much more than just coworkers during their 40-year friendship. After meeting in the 1980s when they were both working actresses, the Charmed costars developed a bond that extended far beyond the small screen. Through cast feuds, health scares and other surprises, the pair maintained a […]
She teased that the network was “notorious for casting young-looking parents,” which was OK with her. “I was like, well, hey, I’d rather have people say, ‘She looks too young to be Lucy Hale’s mom,’ than say, ‘Oh, she got old,’” Combs told fans on Sunday.
While Combs sang her PLL costars’ praises, that hasn’t always been the case when it comes to her Charmed castmates. In fact, Milano previously revealed that the original stars weren’t always best friends despite playing close sisters on screen.
“Holly and Shannen were best friends for like 10 years before the show started, so it was very much sort of like high school,” Milano revealed during a July 2013 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, claiming there were some “rough days” when Doherty was part of the cast.
Milano told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 that her problems with Doherty “came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood the show was so much about.” She admitted at the time that she felt “guilt” about her “part in that.”
Combs later claimed in December 2023 that Milano played a part in Doherty’s exit from Charmed after three seasons, igniting another feud.
According to Combs, producer Jonathan Levin told her, “We didn’t mean to [fire Shannen], but we’ve been backed into this corner.”
Combs alleged on Doherty’s “Let’s Be Clear” podcast that the producer said, “We’re basically in this position where it’s one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.”
In February 2024, Milano addressed the allegations that she got Doherty fired, telling fans at Megacon Orlando, “I will just say that I’m sad.”
She explained, “I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans. I am the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day almost a quarter of a century later still happening.”
Milano noted that the drama is “heartbreaking and hard” for her to continue to process, but she is grateful for the fans who “love us anyway.”
She added, “I think I’ve been very upfront and taken accountability for and apologized for whatever part I played in the situation,” concluding, “I don’t know how else to fix it.”
