Enjoy Reuniting With These Saucy Beverly Hills, 90210 Secrets
Brian Austin Green Ranks His Top 5 ‘90210’ Storylines! (Exclusive)
It’s been 34 years since Brenda and Brandon Walsh first got an eyeful of what teenagers drive in Beverly Hills.
Kelly Taylor in her red BMW convertible, Steve Sanders in his Corvetteâthe parking lot at West Beverly High was fancy.Â
But showing up in a station wagon named Mondale didn’t prevent the Minnesota-bred siblings from making fast friends with those respective rich kids, and that first day of school laid the groundwork for all that was to come on Beverly Hills, 90210.
The primetime soap premiered Oct. 4, 1990, on Fox with the cast in high school (junior year, but the next season was, shhh, also junior year) and signed off on May 17, 2000, with the Donna Martin-David Silver nuptials.
But no, the series’ successor, the CW’s 90210, wasn’t about the Martin-Silver divorce.
Not to say we weren’t rooting for the happily-ever-after that Tori Spelling and Brian Austin Green’s characters got in the series finale. But we’re all grown-ups now and their off-and-on romance that started in high school and went through the ringer in college before they rekindled the flame on grad night was not the making of a stable lasting love. Â
Our wisdom of the ages also can’t help but reflect on the star-crossed resurgence of Kelly and Dylan by series’ end, Luke Perry having returned midway through season nine in 1998 after originally leaving the show in devastating fashion in 1995.
Devastating for Dylan, that is, after he married the daughter of the man he originally intended to kill to avenge his own dad’s death, but then his bride ended up dead when her father’s henchman accidentally shot her instead of Dylan.
It was a whole thing.
Anyway, that must have been what the fans who were not on Team Brenda wanted. Though when Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty, who passed away in July, signed up for the CW’s 90210 in 2008, Kelly was a single mom raising the son she had with Dylan before they split up. And her bond with Brenda was still never to return to what it was before he came between them.
If a lot of this sounds totally unhinged, well… these are just some basic plot points of the Fox drama, which ran for 10 ultra-long seasons (they did summer episodes, too, what a time) and packed in every the-more-you-know issue you could think of along with the lusty love triangles and epic fashion.
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Meanwhile, even more was cooking behind the scenes of this TV Guide-era classic set against a backdrop of sports cars, palm trees, the beach and the immaculately manicured grounds of a campus that in reality was nowhere near Beverly Hills (though you may also recognize Torrance High School from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and She’s All That).
So, cheers to the 34th anniversary of the Beverly Hills, 90210 premiere. And in honor of Donna and David’s hope-filled nuptials, reunite with these secrets about the making of the beloved series:
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Tough Beginnings
Created by Darren Star, the show was originally called Class of Beverly Hills, and at one point, Star, who based the show loosely on his own high school experience in Potomac, Md., used the working title Potomac 20854 before its now-iconic title was settled on.Â
While Beverly Hills, 90210 would go on to become one of the most popular TV shows of the ’90s and be largely responsible for launching the teen soap genre, the Fox show was a dud when it first debuted in 1990, ranking No. 118 in the ratings (going up against NBC’s Cheers didn’t help).Â
But after the season one finale, featuring Brenda and Dylan’s first time, started gaining buzz, Fox smartly ordered new episodes for the summer, providing some much-needed teen angst and drama in what used to be the TV off-season.Â
“We filmed all of our risquĂ© summer episodes at the beach and aired those at the time when the other shows were in reruns,” Jennie Garth told the New York Times. “So we caught a huge teen audience, kids that were home from school. And then it just went crazy.”
From there, 90210 went from low-rated guilty pleasure to cultural phenomenon and the mostly unknown stars became some of the most famous people in the world.
“In just a matter of weeks, we went from being just another generic ensemble cast of any old prime-time drama to beingâŠsuperstars,” Garth wrote in her memoir. “I don’t think any of us were prepared for the stardom that was thrust upon us in this way.”
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The Ultimate Teen Idol
Before being cast as one of TV’s ultimate heartthrobs, Luke Perry was working construction as a way to pay his bills between auditionsâincluding for the role of Steve Sanders, which ultimately went to Ian Ziering.
But when producers realized they were lacking a brooding bad boy, Perry, then 27, got the call. “When Luke walked into the audition, it was like ‘Wow, that’s the person,'” Star gushed to Rolling Stone. “He seems exactly like James Dean to me, but it isn’t a conscious imitationâhe’s really being himself.”
Dylan McKay was initially only going to appear in a few episodes, but it was clear from the moment he drove up in that black Porsche 356 Speedster that a star was bornâthough Spelling had to fight to make Perry a series regular. (Imagine their reaction when they learned 20 people were injured after a riot broke out at a mall during one of Perry’s appearances when 10,000 fans showed up?)
Perry remained on the show until 1995, leaving for three years to pursue other opportunities before returning in 1998, and remained on until the end, often credited as a special guest star.Â
In March 2019, Perry died at the age of 52 after suffering a stroke. He was starring on Riverdale, the latest teen soap that can credit the original 90210 for leading the way, playing the father of Archie (KJ Apa), the show’s brooding lead. While he wasn’t set to appear on Fox’s BH90210 revival that year, the show paid tribute to the beloved star in its premiere.Â
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Tori Spelling’s Truth
Fearful of nepotism, executive producer Aaron Spelling’s daughter Tori Spelling auditioned under a fake name, Tori Mitchell (inspired by a character Heather Locklear played in a TV movie her dad produced), reading for the roles of Kelly and Andrea before landing the role of Donna Martin.
“I heard about the show from my agent. She said, ‘Your dad is doing it.’ I was like, ‘I haven’t heard anything about it,'” Spelling told EW. “I popped into his briefcase when he got home, and I was like, cool. I really wanted to play Andrea. I went in under a different name, then I got the part of Donnaâwhich I’m sure had something to do with my dad.”
Donna ended up the cener of many an iconic moment, including the infamous “Donna Martin graduates!” chant when getting drunk on prom night got her banned from the graduation ceremony. In his memoir, Jason Priestley revealed a prank he pulled on that day of filming: Knowing they were going to reloop the dialogue anyway, Priestley got the group of extras to chant “Donna Martin masturbates!” instead, finding the opportunity “pretty irresistible.”
Jaimie Trueblood/The CW
Shannen Doherty’s Drama
Shannen Doherty, previously known for the pitch-black high school comedy Heathers, was named the cast’s Biggest Diva upon graduation from West Beverly, and Brenda Walsh only stayed through one season of 90210’s college years.
“Her lateness was appalling, and she had a callous attitude and an indifference,” former executive producer Charles Rosin told EW in 2000. Aaron Spelling added, “It wasn’t like she ruined the show or anything. It just upset the cast members tremendously.”
Doherty admitted, “There was definitely a time that I did not want to be there. I was unhappy.”
The final straw for producers was rumored to be Doherty’s decision to cut her hair in the middle of filming the season four finale in 1994, which saw Brenda deciding to move to London to pursue acting.
But later Spelling admitted going to her father to expedite Doherty’s firing.
“I felt like I was a part of something, a movement, that cost someone their livelihood,” an emotional Spelling said during a 2015 special. “Was she a horrible person? No. She was one of the best friends I ever had.”
After Doherty’s death at 53 in July 2024 following a years-long battle with breast cancer, all of her former costars paid tribute. Priestley called her a “force of nature,” while Spelling remembered her as “a rebel in an era when most women didnât feel comfortable being strong.”
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The New Girl in Town
After Doherty’s dramatic exit, the pressure was on to find her replacement.
“We obviously had an exhaustive search to replace her,” executive producer Larry Mollin told TeenDramaW–re in 2010. “We looked at many people.”
Alicia Silverstone, Alyssa Milano and Drew Barrymore were all reportedly in contention, but 90210 went with Saved By the Bell star Tiffani Amber-Thiessen, whose scheming Valerie Malone was the opposite of cheery Kelly Kapowski.
“We wanted a baaad girl. There was really an edge with Tiffani because she was so sexual,” producer Rosin told EW. “In her first episode, she [smoked] some pot. We were making a statement there.” (In her first scene, she memorably rolls a joint with one hand, though a stunt double was needed.)
Viewers responded immediately to the character, but there was one cast member who didn’t love Thiessen: Brian Austin Green, her real-life boyfriend at the time.Â
“When we cast her, Brian was so upset! Oh my god, he felt betrayed!” Mollin recalled. “We were totally shocked and had no idea. But, then, of course, we realized why: because other people would be kissing…his girlfriend!”
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Ahhh, Young Love
Fact: If you assemble a cast of young, attractive, available people and have them work together for an extended period of time, they will hook up.
“Various combinations of people slept with each other over the years,” Priestley shared in his memoir, undoubtedly filling fans with righteous joy that their suspicions were right all these years later. Priestley went on to say his “full-fledged adult relationship” was with Christine Elise (aka Emily Valentine), whom he dated for five years.
During a test on Celebrity Lie Detector, Spelling said she had a quick summer fling with Priestley, dated Green (saying she was “always in love” with her onscreen beau), and once kissed Perry. (Priestley’s response? “I’m not getting into this… It’s nobody’s business… Either way…,” he tweeted.)
After dating Thiessen for several years, Green started seeing Vanessa Marcil, who played one of David’s non-Donna love interests, Gina Kincaid. They split up in 2003 and share now grown son Kassius.
Fox
On-Set Feuds and Fist Fights
If viewers thought the rivalry between Brenda and Kelly was intense, it was nothing compared to the behind-the-scenes feuding between Doherty and Garth, with Spelling often attempting (and failing) to play peacemaker.
 “I don’t know why it is, but there is a universal truth that when you put three teenage girls together, some serious s–t is going to go down,” Garth wrote in her 2013 memoir, “even if it meant sounding like a complete and utter b—h. Poor Tori, the youngest of the three of us was, inevitably, often caught in the middle and she was always trying to smooth things over, trying to get Shan and me off each other’s backs and get along, but her efforts usually failed.”
Things got so heated that the two stars once came very close to throwing punches (with some accounts saying fists actually did fly), with Garth revealing the cause of the blowup (which the male cast members had to step in to de-escalate): Doherty pulled up Garth’s skirt while filming a scene. Garth, describing the two of them as “gasoline and a match,” wrote, “I did snap and I yelled at her, something to the effect of, ‘Come on, b—h! We’re talking this outside!'”
Fortunately, Doherty and Garth ultimately reconciled.
“Our connection was real and honest,” Garth wrote on Instagram after Doherty’s death. “We were so often pitted against each other but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship which was one built on mutual respect and admiration.”
FOX
Blame Fox for Brenda and Dylan’s Breakup
It might be hard to believe, but back in the early ’90s, 16-year-old Brenda losing her virginity to Dylan at the spring dance was a big effin’ deal. And the biggest outcry came from scandalized local affiliates (or the people who wrote in to them to complain) who were upset that Brenda’s first time was…perfectly fine!Â
“I was strongly advised to write a show that would address the consequences of that sexual experience,” Star revealed to The New York Times. “So the first episode of the second season Brenda broke up with Dylan because their relationship had gotten too mature.”
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Jennie Garth’s Secret Struggle
While Kelly Taylor was battling cults, cocaine use, love triangles and amnesia onscreen, Garth was privately struggling with anxiety from the age of 19, as she revealed in her memoir.Â
“I felt comfortableâalmost comfortedâby all of the workers buzzing around me during the day, but after hours, I’d find myself getting anxious when strangers approached me,” she wrote. “And so simple tasks, like going to the grocery store, or the mall, or to get gas, became overwhelming exercises in having to be âon’ when my natural inclination was to shut down and not interact with anyone. IâŠbegan to suffer a level of anxiety that as, at times, nearly paralyzing. When the panic attacks started to kick in, I became even more withdrawn.”
She revealed at one point she had “stopped going to the movies or clothes shopping or doing any of the other things normal young people do,” waiting until well after dark to step out of her home. “I wouldn’t say that I ever stepped over the line into full-blown agoraphobia, but I would say I definitely came close.”
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Trashed Dressing Room
While Ziering mostly avoided any and all drama on set, he revealed he had an emotional breakdown in season four after a storyline of Steve’s was cut.
“There was an episode where Steve was accused of rape,” he told HuffPost Live in 2015. “But, they edited out so much powerful stuff. That was like the first time I really got some great words to say and I work-shopped them and I studied. I brought game, and it never even made it through the edit.”
Feeling “betrayed” by the producers’ decision not to air the scenes without letting him know first, Ziering lost his cool.Â
“I tore the dressing rooms apart,” he revealed. “We all work so hard for our characters and to not even get a heads up…I’m not a volatile person, I have a very long fuse, but after working so hard on this particular episode, I just didn’t feel like they were with me on this one.”
FOX
Jason Priestley’s Partying and Parting Ways
After becoming a heartthrob as ultimate nice guy Brandon, Priestley was desperate to shed the goody-two-shoes image in real life, so he indulged in some hard partying “to prove that I was nothing like the sanctimonious Brandon Walsh,” he wrote in his memoir. (During a 2014 Watch What Happens Live! appearance, Garth said he partied the hardest out of all the cast members.)Â
“When you’re young like that, you feel like a hamster on a wheel. All you’re doing is spinning that wheel and your world,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “You have a bunch of people telling you how great you are, so it’s really easy to just start believing it after a while.”
Priestley ended up changing his ways (thanks in large part to his relationship with costar Elise), going on to become a producer on the show and directing episodes, which is why Brandon’s unceremonious exit in season nine hurt his feelings at the time.
“I did the first scene of the morningâliterally with this actor who was brought in to replace meâand that was it. I hugged the crew, picked up my box of stuff, went to my car and drove away,” he told the Guardian. “There was no party, no nothing. I felt like I’d wasted nine years of my life.”
He returned in a video messageâBrandon’s well-wishes for Donna and David when they tied the knotâfor the series finale in 2000.
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Age Is Just a Number
After initially auditioning for Brenda, believing that being a twin IRL would give her an edge, Gabrielle Carteris landed the role of Andreaâafter the 29-year-old lied about her age to snag the part of the academically minded 16-year-old. (Fun fact: Teen Witch star Robyn Lively, then Priestley’s girlfriend, turned down the role of Andrea first.)
“I actually talked to a lawyer about how could I sign these contracts and lie about my age and still be able to do the show. Is it OK?” she told Access Hollywood. “[The lawyer said] âYes it is, as long as you just say you’re over 21.'”
A main cast member for the first five seasons, producers reluctantly worked Carteris’ real-life pregnancy into the show, making Andrea pregnant and marrying her off to the baby’s father, her boyfriend Jesse Vasquez (Mark Espinoza). But by the end of the fifth season, the producers felt Andrea’s time in America’s most famous zip code had run its course and sent her off to Yale with her young family.Â
“It didn’t really add to us. It took away a lot of the fun, to have to be in this grown-up stuff,” Mollin said. “We eventually just didn’t think it was going to work.”
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The Future Oscar Winner Who Was Fired
Two Oscar wins later, Hilary Swank is still not over being fired from Beverly Hills, 90210 back in the day.Â
After playing single mom Carly Reynolds for 13 episodes in season eight, Swank was unexpectedly fired despite having signed a two-year contract, leaving her “devastated” after learning fans didn’t love her character paired with Steve Sanders.Â
“They were like, ‘Look, it’s not working,'” Swank said on Conan of the conversation she had with producers. “And I couldn’t move. I was like, ‘What’s not working? Me? Am I bad? I’m not working because I’m bad?'”
But when one door closes, another opens, and soon after her firing Swank landed her (first) Oscar-winning role in 1999’s Boys Don’t Cry.
(Originally published May 17, 2024, at 3 a.m. PT)
