We caught up with the cast and showrunners of Charmed at New York Comic Con 2019 for a behind the scenes look at the premiere episode of season two and had a sit down with them for an interview. Talking with the new showrunners for season two, Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro, we found that this season is a whole new ballgame. The new showrunners are giving us a second season with an expanded world, a darker tone, and a season-long mystery arc. Where they felt that last season was more episodic with a “monster of the week” type feel, season two will explore each of the sisters’ past, present, and future as well as introduce us to some new characters.
One question on our minds was would we be seeing Maggie and Macy’s father especially with the revelation at the end of season one that Macy and Maggie shared a father. This discovery led to Maggie finding out that she was biracial and not solely Latina as she had previously believed. Showrunner Craig Shapiro was really excited to share what he could but didn’t want to give us any spoilers, leaving us with a little morsel, saying that we will see the sisters as children and learn some of their motivations for their current personalities. That tidbit along with learning that we could see some other relatives this season led us to believe that Maggie and Macy’s father might just be making a cameo or two. Our fingers are crossed.
We asked Sarah Jeffery, the actress that portrays Maggie if she believed that her own experience of being biracial informed how she portrayed Maggie. Sarah stated that like her character she felt that she didn’t feel comfortable speaking directly to the “Black experience” but could comment on her own biracial experience. That sentiment was mirrored in season one, episode 18, “The Replacement” when Maggie turns down a scholarship reserved for Black students because she feels that she hasn’t earned that identity without growing up culturally Black. In the episode, she explains to her sister Macy that she does want to keep exploring that part of her identity although she refuses to apply for scholarships for Black students.
The Charmed Ones all share a Latina mother and a question that was on our minds, seeing Mel’s Puerto Rican flag in her bedroom in season one, along with episode four, “Exorcise Your Demons” where the sisters found a spell from their mother Marisol written in Spanish, was will there be more Santeria based magic in season two? Showrunner, Liz Kruger shared with us that their writer’s room is very diverse and in fact has a Santeria practitioner on staff. She also stated that magic in the world of Charmed predates a lot of the magical systems that we categorize magic in today and that they would be drawing on some Latinx magical systems (and maybe monsters) but also drawing on magical mythologies from all over which dovetails with their widening of the world of Charmed. The Charmed Ones in season two won’t be limited to Hilltowne, Michigan, the United States, or maybe even this time period.
We asked Melonie Diaz who portrays Mel, a queer woman of color, with Charmed being seen as a “woke” show tackling different social issues in season one will they be addressing more social issues in the upcoming season? Melonie told us she feels that this season will focus on the sisters themselves more than social issues and Sarah added that they will also speak to some issues because their characters are firmly placed in the real world, even though they have magical abilities, and being in the real world there will always be social issues at play for their characters.
Madeleine Mantock, plays Macy the half-witch, half-demon sister, and we asked her how it felt to have the biggest character arc of the sisters, going from goodie-two-shoes to full-on demon. She told us that playing Macy was really fun because she got to embody two very different sides of the same character and how playing that duality is very exciting for an actor. Another exciting story arc with the character of Macy is her love life and with her former boyfriend now dead after sacrificing himself, one question on lots of fans’ minds is will Macy and Harry, her Whitelighter, get together or not. The showrunners nor the actors themselves would answer that question and told us to wait and see.
When asked what would Harry and Macy do on their ideal date, Rupert Evans who plays Harry thought of having tea and watching television or reading books together, but then Madeleine told him to think a little bigger since they could go anywhere they wanted with his orbing power and they settled on maybe going on Safari. Sounds fun and with a lot of fans that are shipping a Macy and Harry romance, we hope that season two delivers it.
The second season of Charmed premiers on the CW, Friday, October 11th at 8/7 Central. We hope that you all will be watching with us as we see what the Charmed Ones are up to and what new monsters they will have to battle!
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Kenesha Williams is an independent author, screenwriter, speaker, and Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Black Girl Magic Lit Mag.
She took to heart the advice, “If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself,” and created a Speculative Fiction Literary Magazine featuring characters that were representative of herself and other women she identified with. She has happily parlayed her love for the weird and the macabre into Black Girl Magic Literary Magazine, finding the best in undiscovered talent in Speculative Fiction.
