Here’s a Thing That Happened in TV: Girl Meets World Canceled, Charmed Reboot Officially a Go
It’s been an eventful day for television to say the least. After Rider Strong revealed that the series had “ended” on a podcast, we now have official word that Girl Meets World has been canceled. The show’s writers account confirmed the news by tweeting, “It is with incredible pride in our work and complete sadness that things end, that I report to this wonderful audience that our show is over.” They added, “I just officially got the call, and would like to thank this audience for its incredible love and loyalty. Please watch our January episodes. We leave you with three incredible souvenirs of a show we couldn’t be more proud of. As I look back I can tell you with absolute certainty—We gave you our best.”
While I enjoyed the series and followed updates closely, I can’t ignore its many problems. For one, it resided on the Disney Channel. Parent series Boy Meets World originally aired on ABC and as such, was able to tackle serious issues with greater depth. Plus, I wasn’t a fan of the way they sidelined Topanga’s character, seeing as she was easily the smartest, most ambitious person of the core group and had a lot more to offer than just tossing her son’s girlfriend out of their apartment.
I’m also confused as to why they turned Corey into Season 7 Eric Matthews 2.0 or why they retconned Shawn and Angela’s bond so he could hook up with Maya’s mom but I digress. Still, it was a sweet show handled with care as seen with standouts like “Girl Meets Rileytown” in which Riley encounters a cyberbully whose face is never shown. The series was in no way perfect but dammit, I’ll always root for anything that presents positive female friendships, normalized characters with mental disabilities and allowed so many familiar faces to drop by (Hey there Eric, Shawn, Angela, Minkus, Feeny, etc).
GMW lasted four seasons and, according to the Hollywood Reporter, will air its finale titled “Girl Meets Goodbye” on January 20. The episode will center on the Matthews family making a “life-changing” decision. It will feature the main cast of Rowan Blanchard, Sabrina Carpenter, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Peyton Meyer, August Maturo, Amir Mitchell-Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff’s son) and Corey Fogelmanis. The really interest thing is that it will also enlist a ton of BMW characters including William Daniels as Mr. Feeny, Will Friedle as Eric Matthews, Lee Norris as Minkus, Anthony Tyler Quinn as Mr. Turner, William Russ as Alan Matthews and Betsy Randle as Amy Matthews. Whoa.
You can also catch the cast’s reaction to the cancellation here.
Another day, another reboot. With the likes of 24, MacGyver, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Gilmore Girls, Beaches, Heathers, Lethal Weapon and so many more being rebooted within the last few years, it’s not surprising that TV execs would eventually come for the kickass women of Charmed. The original series aired on The WB (which would later become the CW) from 1998 to 2006 and now the CW is bringing it back-without any involvement from the original cast. However, I wouldn’t call it a reboot so much as an abomination.
Per Entertainment Weekly, this “reimagined” series is supposed to take place in 1976 and will be written by Jane the Virgin’s Jessica O’Toole, Amy Rardin and Jennie Snyder. If they were going to bring back the show, this is one of the worst ways to do it in this writer’s opinion. While I’m thrilled that they won’t be replacing Prue, Piper, Pheobe and Paige, I was hoping they’d at least put it in a modern setting and following a new generation of witches. And if they happened to be women of color, that would be a bonus. I formally nominate Kiersey Clemons, Nicole Beharie and Kat Graham to play the new powerful sisters.
Both Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan weighed in on a possible reboot back in 2013 when rumors of the project first sprung up.
They really are running out of ideas in Hollywood.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 25, 2013
The thing about them doing a #charmed reboot is… it just… it feels like yesterday. It feels too close.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 25, 2013
But I think Holly Marie Combs delivered the best response so far.
We wish them well.
— Holly Marie Combs (@H_Combs) January 5, 2017
Simply and classy with a little bit of shade. I love it.
(via The Hollywood Reporter/Entertainment Weekly, image via screencap)
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