Shannen Doherty Praises ‘Charmed’ Costar Alyssa Milano in Posthumously Released Podcast Episode

On Sunday’s episode of the re-launched House of Halliwell: A Charmed Rewatch Podcast — which Doherty had just joined last week — the late actress praised her former costar’s work on the show despite the known tension between the two on the WB series set.

Before Milano made her debut as Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed, actress Lori Rom portrayed the character in an unaired pilot. On the podcast episode, Doherty — who played Prue Halliwell — compared their performances.

“Lori and Alyssa are very, very, very different people. So, Lori’s performance was different than Alyssa’s. Lori was a lot like Holly and I in the sense of [being] very grounded in drama,” Doherty said, referring to her friend and costar, Holly Marie Combs, who played Piper Halliwell. “The presentation was much more serious, and it was way darker, which was my style. So, I loved the presentation, and I thought everybody was great.”

“When Alyssa came in, it provided a levity that I think the show ended up needing,” she added. “She came in and she did a great job. And yeah, just brought, like, a slightly different flavor to the show.”

Before she passed away, Doherty recorded four episodes of the podcast, which will all be released.

On Sunday, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum’s rep, Leslie Sloane, announced the news of her death.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” Sloane said, per TMZ. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.”

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. While she was believed to be in remission in 2017, in 2019 she learned her cancer had metastasized as Stage 4 in her brain and bones.

Late last month, Doherty shared on her podcast Let’s Be Clear that she started a new round of chemotherapy. Despite being told that her Stage 4 cancer was incurable, she shared that she felt “hopeful” and was maintaining a positive outlook.

Following the news of her passing, celebrities took to social media to pay tribute, including Milano.

“It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” the actress said in a statement. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”

In Charmed, which ran from 1996 to 2006, Doherty appeared on the show until Season 3, reporting leaving the series because of tensions on set between her and Milano. She was replaced by Rose McGowan’s Paige in Season 4.

Last November, Doherty and her Charmed costar, Holly Marie Combs, claimed on an episode of Doherty’s podcast that Milano was responsible for her firing from Charmed in 2001.

Milano later addressed the drama and denied Doherty’s claims, arguing that she “did not have the power” to get anyone fired from the show.

During an appearance at MegaCon alongside Combs and McGowan in February 2024, Doherty appeared to respond to Milano’s denial of her claims, saying “a lot of things” that have been said were “very hurtful.”

She continued, “At this point in my life, with my health diagnosis — sorry if I start crying — with fighting a horrific disease every day of my life, it is also incredibly important to me that the truth actually be told as opposed to the narrative that others put out there for me.”

“We told it together,” she added. “We told our truths, and we are standing by our truths.”