This new article on tvfanatic.com makes a mention of Gale:

"Referring to the young coven - which will include Britt Robertson's Cassie, who moves to a new town after her mother is killed - versus an older generation that is comprised of Natasha Henstridge's Dawn and Gale Harold's Charles, Williamson teased:

"There is this idea of what happened 16 years ago, that chased Cassie’s mother from this town. What was so horrific? As our new Circle tries to uncover that, for fear of their own future, a lot of those discoveries do go inter-generational. We have the Dawn and Charles Circle, but we also have Jane, who is Cassie’s grandmother, who has her own Circle..."

Kevin Williamson Previews Inter-Generational War on The Secret Circle

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The original source for the quotes in the article is this interview with Kevin Williamson on collider.com:

"WILLIAMSON: Yeah. There is this idea of what happened 16 years ago, that chased Cassie’s mother from this town. What was so horrific? As our new Circle tries to uncover that, for fear of their own future, a lot of those discoveries do go inter-generational. We have the Dawn and Charles Circle, but we also have Jane, who is Cassie’s grandmother, who has her own Circle. So, there is this generational aspect, if you look at the hidden mythology. It’s a world of villainy, where you may not like what they are doing or agree with the villains, but if we do our job right, you will understand them and understand why they are doing what they are doing. Hopefully, it will resonate in an emotional way, along with the thrills and fun."

Producer Kevin Williamson Talks THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and THE SECRET CIRCLE