It seems that the eyebrow-raising Beverly Hills 90210 reboot that was announced last month is neither a reboot nor a revival of the original show. The Aaron Spelling smash hit originally ran from 1990-2000, launching the career of creator Darren Star, who also engineered the show’s spinoff Melrose Place, and later on, Sex In The City. Inspiring pop culture staples like The O.C. and Dawson’s Creek, the show is recognized as a landmark in television dramas for teens, chiefly because of its focus on heavy topics facing adolescents, such as substance abuse, sexual assault, bullying, peer pressure, and mental health. The CW created a reboot in 2008 that lasted for five seasons.
The earliest seasons of the show reportedly had the fieriest drama between the original cast members, which included Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Carteris. Lifetime even produced a 2015 true-story movie called The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story, starring Dan Castellaneta as Aaron Spelling. Since the show, however, the cast has stayed on good terms, with Doherty, Garth, and Spelling even guest-starring in the CW reboot. For the proposed new show, Garth, Spelling, Priestley, Ziering, Austin Green, and Carteris are said to be coming back, with no word on Doherty and Perry. Since Deadline initially reported that the planned production was definitely “not a traditional reboot,” the meaning behind that clue may now be revealed.
The new Beverly Hills 90210 project apparently won’t involve the principle cast picking up their iconic characters, but rather satirizing them. TV Line reports that the planned series would be “an hour-long mockumentary-style dramedy that would find former 90210 cast members Jennie Garth, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Carteris playing themselves - albeit in a somewhat heightened state.” Bizarrely, the premise itself is very meta, and revolves around the cast trying to get a (fictional) revival of the show made.
The CBS-produced show is currently shopping for a home and has reportedly already stirred interest from networks and TV platforms. The idea is being led by Mike Chessler and Chris Alberghini, who were producers on the CW reboot, as well as Tori Spelling’s 2006 short-lived, self-lampooning series So Notorious. Spelling later launched a reality show called True Tori about her relationships with her children and husband Dean McDermott in 2014.
Mockumentaries have been getting more attention recently, with growing recognition for films like What We Do In The Shadows and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. The deals get even sweeter for the format when audiences see stars outrageously making fun of themselves, as in the cases of Margo Martindale’s recurring role in BoJack Horseman, or Kelly Ripa’s hilarious guest spot on Broad City. Best of all, the Beverly Hills 90210 cast, which has been in the public eye for decades has no shortage of comedic fodder. Garth has done an impressive list of reality series, Perry (if he returns) is a fan favourite as Riverdale’s Fred Andrews, and Ziering, of course, was the lifeblood of the Sharknado franchise. Whatever parodies this crew could come up with would almost certainly be a treat.
MORE: 15 Secrets Behind 90210 You Had No Idea About
Source: TV Line
