CW Plans 90210 Spinoff

[MrsSpringsteen]

Hollywood Reporter

Rich kids are back: CW plots '90210' spinoff

By Nellie Andreeva

March 13, 2008

The most popular ZIP code on television is coming back.

The CW is developing a contemporary spinoff of Aaron Spelling's seminal 1990s teen soap "Beverly Hills, 90210."

"Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas is in talks to pen the project, which has been put on the fast track by the network.

Details about the spinoff -- including which if any of the characters on the original series will make the transition to the new show -- remain sketchy. CW is expected to make a decision whether to order a pilot by the end of the month.

The spinoff is being produced by CBS Paramount Network TV, which absorbed original series producer Spelling TV two years ago.

Sources said "90210" creator Darren Star is not involved.

CAA, which packaged the original "90210," is said to have been the mastermind behind the idea of spinning off the hit series. The spinoff would bring Thomas back to CW, where his acclaimed series "Veronica Mars" ended its three-year run last spring.

A year ago, Endeavor-repped Thomas developed a spinoff of sorts from "Veronica" -- an alternative fourth season that would have found the title character studying at the FBI Academy. Despite a warm reception for his trailer at CW, the network ultimately canceled "Veronica," but CW chief Dawn Ostroff said at the time that she was looking to do another project with Thomas.

This would be the second spinoff from "90210," which aired on Fox from 1990-2000. The Star-created "Melrose Place" had a successful seven-year run on Fox. It didn't feature any major characters from "90210."

A teen soap about privileged youths living in Beverly Hills would be a perfect companion to CW's buzzworthy freshman drama "Gossip Girl," which revolves around rich teens living in Manhattan.

Spinoffs are hot this development season. Fox is developing two: "Cleveland," centered on the Cleveland Brown character from the hit animated comedy "Family Guy," and a "Prison Break" offshoot set at a female prison.

Last year, ABC spun off its medical juggernaut "Grey's Anatomy" into "Private Practice."

The CW also has a spinoff on its schedule, the "Girlfriends" offshoot "The Game."

 

[BVS]

How do you have a "spinoff" without something from the original?

And Melrose did have Kelly in a few episodes...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I loved 90210, sometimes I still watch reruns

First look at '90210' spinoff hints at family ties
New pair of Midwestern teens arrive in Beverly Hills for new series
By Nellie Andreeva
Hollywood Reporter
Wed., March. 19, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Meet the Mills, the three-generational Beverly Hills clan at the center of the CW’s contemporary “Beverly Hills, 90210” spinoff.

A detailed breakdown for the pilot, released Monday night, sheds more light on the plot and the characters of the untitled show.

Rob Thomas (”Dawson’s Creek,” “Veronica Mars”) is writing the spinoff, which, like the original “90210,” revolves around a family with two teen kids the same age — a boy and a girl — who recently moved from the Midwest to Beverly Hills.

But this time, the dad, Harry Mills, is a Beverly Hills High alum who moved after graduation and settled in East St. Louis. He is forced to come back when his 1970s movie star mother’s alcohol problem gets out of control. Joining him are his wife, Celia, a former Olympic medalist; biological daughter Annie; and adopted son Dixon.

The script breakdown includes five other characters, four of them 16-year-old students at West Beverly Hills High. None appears directly related to any of the characters on the original series, although 16-year-old Daphne Silver and her twentysomething brother, Max Silver, have the same last name as David Silver (Brian Austin Green), who married Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) in the original “90210” series finale.

Although Max may be too old to be David’s son, it nevertheless is intriguing that he and his sister live alone in a mansion while their parents have been “on a cruise” for as long as anyone can remember.

The spinoff also reflects the current reality at the Beverly Hills school, where about 40 percent of the students are of Persian descent: One of the students in the show is named Navid Shirazi.

To get the high-profile project ready for the network’s “upfront” presentations to advertisers in May, CW and producing studio CBS Paramount Network TV began casting before the script’s completion, a practice employed by other networks during the abbreviated post-writers’-strike pilot season.

 

[Pearl]

Reminds me of the joke on Weekend Update on SNL this past weekend: The show will be called One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Dawson's Creek, Smallville, etc.

 

[corianderstem]

I am totally watching this.

 

[Dalton]

Is it going to be called "Where are they now?"

 

[beegee]

I loved 90210, sometimes I still watch reruns

Make some room in that reject box, Mrs S!

I own all three seasons released so far on dvd

 

[Carek1230]

I am reading Tori's book right now. I'd watch this new show along with watching 90210 reruns.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

I was more of a Melrose Place kind of gal.

If they ever brought something like that back, I'm sure I'd watch.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

DONNA MARTIN GRADUATES!

I just had to say that

 

[U2isthebest]

My mom watches 90210 every day. I love making fun of her for it. This spin-off thing sounds like it's going to be a trainwreck of epic proportions.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

DONNA MARTIN GRADUATES!

I just had to say that

Even I remember that

 

[Hewson]

biological daughter Annie; and adopted son Dixon.
.

I sense "sibling" hook up for ratings.

 

[U2isthebest]

^You know, I gotta say, I got a very incestuous vibe from Brenda and Brandon.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

one can only hope it's as good as saved by the bell: the college years.

 

[dsmith2904]

one can only hope it's as good as saved by the bell: the college years.

That's setting the bar awfully high.

 

[LMP]

As long as they keep the theme song, I'm happy.

 

[U2isthebest]

^Yeah, it was pretty deep.

 

[dsmith2904]

From People.com:

First 90210 Castmember Revealed!
90210’s West Beverly High School has its first student.

Canadian native Dustin Milligan will play Ethan, who is described as beautiful, likable and a star athlete, all valuable qualities in the elite, star-studded zip code, according to reps from the CW pilot.

Last month, the network fast-tracked a pilot for a spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210, the popular series about a group of kids living an upscale life. For 10 years starting in 1990, viewers watched the lives unfold for Brandon and Brenda Walsh, Kelly and Dylan and others.

While there is talk of someone from the original cast making an appearance (Tori Spelling told PEOPLE she’d love to be a part of the remake), Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas, who penned the pilot, is bringing a whole new cast of characters to make Beverly Hills their playground.

Earlier, Thomas revealed that the pilot’s premise is about a former graduate of West Beverly who reluctantly returns from the Midwest, with his wife and two children, to become the next school’s principal. The principal’s mother is a former actress who is headed back to rehab.

So far, Milligan, 22, is the first official cast member. He has appeared in several television shows, but most recently appeared in an episode of the CW show Supernatural. –Elaine Aradillas.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Uhoh, he looks like another Zac Efron

Another 22 year old playing a hs student, I think the 90210ers were in their 30's when they did

 

[dsmith2904]

I think I've gotten so used to seeing 25 year olds play 16 that when I see an actual teenager, like Miley Cyrus, they look so young.

 

[Hewson]

I think the 90210ers were in their 30's when they did

Wasn't Luke Perry 54 when the show debuted?

 

[Hewson]

^You know, I gotta say, I got a very incestuous vibe from Brenda and Brandon.

I remember when Jason Priestly was on Howard Stern some years back, Howard and co. were grilling him on hook-ups with cast members and he let slip that he and Shannen Doherty had done the nasty, so the vibe may have come across on screen.

 

[U2girl]

Keep the memories of the original series (Dylan and Valerie saved the show after the Walshes left).

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Wasn't Luke Perry 54 when the show debuted?

 

[dsmith2904]

Another casting update from People.

90210 Update: Hilary Duff Out, Degrassi Star In
April 29, 2008
Meet Annie Mills!

Shenae Grimes — who plays former good girl Darcy Edwards on Degrassi: The Next Generation — has been cast in the CW’s new 90210 spinoff as Annie Mills, the daughter of the principal of Beverly Hills High.

Hilary Duff was approached for the role, but told reporters, “It’s not true,” when asked if she would be on the show.

Grimes will join cast members Dustin Milligan and Nip/Tuck’s AnnaLynne McCord, as well as Full House star Lori Loughlin, who will play Annie’s mom, Celia Mills.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to be part of a great franchise,” Loughlin tells PEOPLE at the Made of Honor premiere in New York Monday. “Everyone knows 90210 so it’s going to be fun and I’m so thrilled!”

In the show, the Mills family move from Kansas to the world’s most famous zip code to be closer to Annie’s grandmother, a former film star with a drinking problem. Arrested Development’s Jessica Walter will play the Mills matriarch, Tabitha, TV Guide reports.

Dirt star Ryan Eggold is set to play Ryan, a teacher who works at Beverly Hills High.

 

[U2isthebest]

This could only end in the worst way.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Seriously - the cw already have their own version of 90210 - 'Gossip Girl' - and frankly I don't know how they will top the rich kid antics in that!

Better yet they should bring 'Grosse Pointe' back - Marcy Sloane

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Whoops - make that Marcy Sternfeld

I'm getting my Grosse Pointers all muddled.

Yay no sleep!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

So I guess she and Tori and Jennie have moved on from their differences, whichever ones didn't get along..I can't keep track and never knew for sure anyway. I would tune in to see them back together, it's just like old times *dreamy nostalgic sigh*



BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Brenda Walsh is coming back to "Beverly Hills 90210," and she's arriving in style.

Shannen Doherty will reprise her role as Walsh in CW's new version of the 1990-2000 series, with her character now a famous director who's invited back to stage a musical at her alma mater, the network said Saturday.

Walsh will guest star in multiple episodes, the network said at a meeting of the Television Critics Association which, appropriately enough, was in Beverly Hills.

She'll be reunited with a few members of the old West Beverly High School gang. As previously announced, Jennie Garth will return as Kelly Taylor, now a school guidance counselor, and Tori Spelling will be back as Donna Martin, who owns a boutique.

Also back is Joe E. Tata, again playing Peach Pit cafe owner Nat.

In the original series, Walsh was last seen bound for London to study acting.

She became a "successful theater actress, splitting her time between London and New York," a CW release explained. She then found equal success as a theater director and her old school asks her to return as a guest director.

The drama about two teenagers from the Midwest who move to California and enroll in West Beverly Hills High School debuts Sept. 2.