Entertainment
How 1990s Supernatural Series Was Doomed By A Too Sexy Outfit
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, because Charmed was a massive hit from the moment it debuted on The WB in 1998. Instantly becoming the network’s most-watched series, the adventures of The Charmed Ones caught on among women in particular, averaging an impressive 5 million viewers every week. At the peak of the show’s success, a producer decided to put Alyssa Milano in a mermaid outfit.
A Record Setting Episode But At What Cost
There’s no denying the cast of Charmed was incredibly attractive. Shannon Doherty, Holly Marie-Combs, Alyssa Milano, and Rose McGowan would be stunning in potato sacks. Brian Krause turned Leo’s penchant for sweaters into a thousand fanfics praising dadcore, and Julian McMahon was so stunning it was hard for fans to ever hate the demonic Cole. Despite the attractive cast (it is Hollywood after all, and “Hollywood Ugly” is the same as “Hottest Person In Your Town”), the show was focused on sisterhood, and their outfits tended to align with 90s fashion trends rather than becoming the focal point of each episode. The mermaid changed that.
“A Witch’s Tail: Part 1” was the Charmed Season 5 debut, airing at 8:00 PM on Sunday for the first time. Promos and previews of Alyssa Milano’s mermaid outfit resulted in the episode becoming The WB’s most successful Sunday night show in history. The episode itself, about a mermaid who must get her boyfriend to declare his love or be cursed by a sea hag, is one of the weakest in the show’s run. Milano’s outfit caught the attention of millions of new viewers, but longtime fans soon caught on to a disturbing trend as subsequent episodes became “stick Alyssa in a new out” and a whole lot less “The Power of Three.”
It didn’t take long for fans of the series to realize that something was wrong. Two episodes later, Phoebe put on a “Cinderella” dress that looked more like her future belly dancer outfit than a princess gown, and she ended up performing a lap dance. Sex sells, but there’s a difference between what men and women find sexy. Look at Hugh Jackman in magazines for men and women to see a great example of this, and Charmed’s audience was mostly women. They tuned out.
Charmed Became A Totally Different Show
Holly Marie-Combs, Alyssa Milano, and Rose McGowan have all expressed frustration over the years about Charmed’s new direction after Season 4. Notably, when the final season rolls around, and the future star of The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco, is brought in, she’s the one stuck in all the fan service costumes instead of the three leads. By then, it was too late, and while most shows would be grateful to reach eight seasons, Charmed limped to the end as a shadow of the fun, lighthearted family-first show it once was.
The blame for the sudden shift can be traced to Brad Kern, Charmed’s showrunner, who helped start it all. Reports of his bad behavior on set eventually leaked out, and in 2017 Kern was sued for sexual harassment and discrimination three times. It’s not a surprise that the show’s focus became Milano’s abs.
Charmed’s first four seasons remain guilty pleasures for its legion of fans. It’s a campy and cheesy series, but it also, at the beginning, wore its heart on its sleeve. Today, the show remains a cultural touchstone and an instant streaming hit no matter the service it’s on, but do yourself a favor, and once the mermaid arrives, turn it off.