Rewatch Opinion - Julian McMahon made Charmed the cult classic it is today

Probably a controversial opinion but my god, i did not realize when I watched this 20 years ago how much an impact Cole had on the show writing and quality. And I credit it mostly to Julian's acting. His portrayal of Cole falling for Phoebe may be the best acted enemy to lovers trope I have ever seen. It is convincing, it is passionate, it is tense ... and makes you want to see more. I dont know if Charmed would have lasted the seasons it did if they stuck to their s1-2 formula of "monster of the week" + "dating a mortal and trying to hide powers from him".

Apparently, Constance Burge wanted only mortal romantic relationship, not supernatural. I cannot fathom how she thought that would be a good idea - how much material do you have with this type of character? It's either Guy who you hide everything from until he finds out (Andy) or Guy who never finds out (Dan).

Anyway, a toast to Julian!