Rose McGowan replaced Shannen Doherty on Charmed, and she reflected on the experience

Joining a new show as a main cast member in its fourth season is a great opportunity, but it also brings a lot of pressure. Rose McGowan joined Charmed in season four, replacing Shannen Doherty after she was fired.

Her first appearance was in the episode "Charmed Again, Part 1," where Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) attended their sister Prue’s (Doherty) funeral. McGowan's character, Paige Matthews, came to pay her respects after a newspaper magically appeared next to her with information about the funeral. The two learn that Paige is their younger half-sister.

On an episode of Doherty's Let's Be Clear podcast, McGowan said her time on set was weird and that, although they were pitted against each other, she refused to start a war with Doherty.

"At the time I joined Charmed, I did not understand the backstory," McGowan said. "I was just told she was fired, and nobody talked about her. [I] was just trying to keep my head above water at that point. I was very famous at that point, but I was persona non grata, non-hirable. I caused disruptions everywhere I went. This is something that Shannen [and I] later talked about that she related to: the weight of what it's like to have the media machine lie about you."

She continued, "From the get-go, every question was like, ‘Do you think Shannen Doherty hates you?’ ‘Do you think she's jealous of you?’ ‘What do you think?’ And I refused to take the bait. They wanted me to start a war with her, and I was like, absolutely not. And to her credit, she absolutely did not do that either."