‘The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story’: Inside Look at the Teen Drama (PHOTOS)
Same Zip Code, New Story
They were the primetime soaps that put the then-fledgling Fox on the map and kept VCRs humming through the ’90s. And now, Beverly Hills, 90210 and its twentsyomething spinoff, Melrose Place, are the fodder for a pair of campy Lifetime bios custom-made for anyone old enough to remember the Peach Pit After Dark. “We want to celebrate the shows,” executive producer Howard Braunstein promises of The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story and The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story. “But we do it with a wink and a nod. We wanted to have fun.”Of course, before Melrose, there was the mother ship—Beverly Hills 90210—a mash-up of big hair, hot fashions and high school angst. And lots and lots of headlines, mostly about the show’s holy trinity: Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley and Luke Perry, who graced everything from the cover of Rolling Stone to Trapper Keepers. Here’s some dirt about how the actors will be represented in this inside look of the soapy teen drama.
Luke Perry (played by Jesy McKinney)
Prior to taking on the role of brooding Dylan McKay, Perry was in construction. “We have this scene where he gets a callback in the middle of work, so he has to borrow a shirt for his audition,” Braunstein recalls. “Of course, he got the role and helped change the dimension of the show.”
Class Bitch Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty, Beverly Hills 90210)
Kelly Taylor told us ALL about this one. Turns out she used to be really sweet when she moved from Minnesota, but then her boyfriend Dylan went on a date with this weird girl named Emily Valentine and Brenda just went off. Things got worse after he cheated on her again…with Kelly, no less!
Jason Priestley (played by Max Lloyd-Jones)
The film reveals how Priestley (cast as Brenda’s twin, Brandon) and Doherty shared a tad too much chemistry early on. “When they audition for Darren Star, they keep getting closer and closer because they were attracted to each other,” Braunstein says. “And Darren goes, ‘OK, you’re doing a great job, but remember you’re siblings!’”
Jennie Garth (played by Abbie Cobb)
Although much has been made about Doherty’s behavior, Aaron Spelling himself defanged some of the scandal in his autobiography A Prime-Time Life. Writing that “it’s not as if she burned down a set or anything!,” he does confirm that “she was late sometimes and that affected other members of the cast, who finally called me and said they couldn’t take it anymore.” In the movie, “Jennie is part of that, as many were,” says Braunstein. “But they have a nice reconciliation.”
Ian Ziering (played by David Lennon)
When asked for his take on the telemovie, the man behind Steve Sanders’ mullet-fro laughed that he hoped “they came up with an interesting story” for him. And boy did they. Look for a nod to Ziering’s Sharknado gigs in a comedic bit between him and Doherty.
Tori Spelling (played by Abby Ross)
Widely known for bringing both Doherty and Priestley to dad Aaron’s attention, the film explores Tori’s role in their casting and her own desires to play the virginal Donna Martin’s funnier side.
Brian Austin Green (played by Ross Linton)
“He seems to have done great for himself,” Braunstein praises of the 90210 grad, who has definitely gotten hotter since his white-boy hip-hop phase at West Beverly. “He is not prominently in the movie, but of course, we show him for what he’s known for—all of his musical talents. We show him developing that.”
The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story, Saturday, Oct. 3, 8/7c, Lifetime
Plus: Take an Inside Look at The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story
