Charmed

''We kind of dug ourselves a pretty interesting creative hole,'' admits executive producer Brad Kern. To be sure, there's painting yourself into a corner, and there's burning down the whole house. In the seventh season finale, the three Halliwell sisters ostensibly died and transformed into other actresses. ''We wrote a quasi–series finale, because at that time we didn't know if we were coming back.'' The series is back, and it will craftily explain the ersatz finale: Everyone else sees the clan's new aliases, but they (and we) see them as themselves, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, and Rose McGowan. It also explains the need for 8 Simple Rules' Kaley Cuoco as an apprentice witch, charged with demon-fighting in their stead. In other casting news, Dorian Gregory is gone, but Jason Lewis snags a recurring role as Dex Lawson. Speaking of ups and downs, don't count on this being Charmed's last season, either, says Kern. ''You can't kill this show.'' So we see.