Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause got emotional over their late Charmed costar Shannen Doherty’s exit from the show.
The House of Halliwell, a Charmed rewatch podcast that the two cohost alongside Drew Fuller, recently discussed Doherty’s final episode on the drama, “All Hell Breaks Loose.”
“All Hell Breaks loose” was the season 3 finale, directed by Doherty. It ended with a cliffhanger, showing sisters Prue (Doherty) and Piper (Combs) left for dead while their sister Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) was trapped in the Underworld.
Doherty was fired from the show and her character was killed off. Prue was replaced by half-sister Paige, played by Rose McGowan, in the subsequent five seasons.
“There was just so many different ways it could have been handled,” Combs said, her voice cracking. “And the fact of the matter is it was handled so s—-ily. It was such massive insult to injury to let her direct it and go out on this high note. Like, it’s just so sick and twisted.”
Combs noted that they wouldn’t be “naming names” involved with Doherty’s exit because many people are too afraid to talk about the incident. She said that no one was aware that Doherty’s job was at risk when filming the episode. Instead, the late actress got a phone call while the show was on hiatus.
“Nobody wants to speak their truth because they feel like they’ll be hated by the fandom, by the thing, by their former workers,” Krause chimed in.
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Krause said that Charmed before and after Doherty felt like two different shows. Combs rated “All Hell Breaks Loose” a zero because of the circumstances.
“I think it’s the worst episode ever,” she said.
Doherty’s departure from Charmed has been a point of contention for nearly 25 years. The actress and Combs publicly argued with their costar and onscreen sister Milano over the circumstances months before Doherty’s death. The Heathers star died of cancer in July 2024.
Combs claimed that Milano had given production an ultimatum that got the Beverly Hills, 90210 star fired. Milano shot back shortly after.
“I’ve been very upfront and taken accountability and apologized for whatever part I played in the situation,” she said in February 2024. “And I’ve been very forthcoming about that, and so I don’t know how else to fix it.”
Combs later accused Milano of contradicting herself regarding Doherty’s firing when speaking about the incident in private.
Listen to the full episode of The House of Halliwell below.
