A new crush of denizens will be moving into an old ZIP code when the CW unpacks its new “Beverly Hills 90210” at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Two of the original cast members, Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty, will be turning in their Gucci gym shorts and customized lockers for 1040s and medical plans. Doherty will be playing a guest drama teacher who directs the school musical. The show’s producers won’t say what Garth is playing and the network has decided not to supply press previews (always a bad sign).
Tori Spelling, who portrayed the insecure Donna in the original, was signed to do the show, then backed out. The network claims they have no contract with Spelling, whose dad, the late Aaron Spelling, produced the original “90210.” No word at press time from her publicist, though the rumor is that there was a salary dispute when Spelling discovered the network had “diversified” the salaries.
The new show — which they’re calling a spinoff — is about a family who moves to Beverly Hills and realizes they’re not in Kansas anymore. Rob Estes, an alum of “Melrose Place” (which was also produced by Spelling) plays the father and Lori Loughlin, who starred in the Spelling production “Summerland,” plays the mom.
“Rob Estes’ character actually grew up in Beverly Hills. He was the next-door neighbor to one of our previous characters,” explains producer Jeff Judah. “They’ve moved back and it’s how they handle this new world. We’ll be using people from the previous show in the new one, and they will organically work with our characters.”
Shenae Grimes (“Degrassi: the Next Generation”) is part of the sizzling young cast. Though she was barely out of Pampers when the original began, she says, “I was the one major fan of the cast. I was 1 when the show came out, but my mom raised me on it, basically. I am very shell-shocked every time I meet one of the old cast members and see the old high school and stuff like that. It’s been quite a trip.”
Grimes says she liked the show because it honestly depicted teenagers at the time. “The drama was something that you hadn’t really seen on television before and the issues were real. You felt like you could finally relate to people that you were seeing on TV. It was serious issues and it showed the serious consequences and it wasn’t just a glamorous package put together for everyone’s eyes.”
Loughlin thinks her character mirrors real life. “She is also moving to Beverly Hills for the first time, so it’s an adjustment for her because she’s never lived outside of Kansas,” says Loughlin, who piqued everybody’s interest when she sort of stepmothered on “Full House” for seven years.
“I think that she’s a contemporary mom. She’s got a career. She’s grounded. She has a good relationship with her husband. I think it’s all based in — she’s based in reality.”
This new version will differ from the old one, insists Judah. “One of the differences from the original show is that (we) are really having a strong adult story line.”
The writers have included observations of people around them. “We also want to have this point of view that there are these other families in Beverly Hills, who we’ve seen in this generation of baby-booming parents, who just think they’re parenting by giving their kids money and excess and clothing and no rules, and we have a strong point of view that kids need boundaries, need rules. And that’s one of the things that’s going to influence the show,” says Judah.
“We’re just trying to tell the best stories we can. We’re trying to ground it. We grew up sort of in the (producer Judd) Apatow family.
“It’s grounded with real character stories and emotional stories. And whether these kids drive Maseratis or whatever mansions they live in, we want people in Iowa watching going, ‘That’s how I feel when my dad gets mad at me, that’s how I feel when someone doesn’t like me.’ We’re trying to just really tell truthful, emotional stories, but also keep it pretty funny, too.”
