Production
Background and development
From 2008 to 2013, a sequel series entitled 90210 aired on The CW. Jennie Garth returned in a heavily recurring role, while Tori Spelling and Shannen Doherty also made appearances and Jason Priestley directed an episode. In December 2013, Ian Ziering stated on Oprah: Where Are They Now? that he had attempted to sell a "loosely scripted" reunion special in which the original cast members appeared as themselves at a dinner party at his house, with a target airdate of September 2, 2010 to commemorate the show's numerical title; however, he failed to find a network interested in buying the project.[34] Ziering indicated that Hulu had expressed interest in a revival series with the original cast in August 2016.[35]
"It's not technically a reboot, because I feel like everyone has seen the reboot. We don't want to be the last ones like doing the reboot thing, and no one wants to see like old versions of ourselves, but they do want to see us playing our characters, so what we're doing is the entire cast is playing heightened versions of themselves. Think Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes, in an hour long show, and we're all playing heightened versions, so it could be fictional, it could be non-fictional, people will have to guess."
—Tori Spelling, on the series concept[4]
In March 2018, it was reported that Garth and Spelling had partnered with CBS Television Studios to produce a 90210-related series in which they would play "exaggerated versions of themselves."[36][37] The project came out of an initial meeting between Spelling and studio president David Stapf.[38] That December, Garth and Spelling shopped project to several networks and streaming services, and Deadline Hollywood confirmed the return of Priestley, Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, and Brian Austin Green, as well as Mike Chessler and Chris Alberghini, who created Spelling's sitcom So Notorious and also wrote on the CW's 90210.[39] That same day, CBS Television Studios confirmed the project was still in "early development" and called it "an untraditional take on a reboot with some of the original cast."[40] In February 2019, Deadline reported that Fox, which aired the original series, was among the outlets bidding on the series, with ABC, CBS, and CBS All Access also reportedly interested.[41] On February 27, Fox ordered the six-episode event series, then titled 90210.[42] Its short order reflected a shift in the company's mandate away from a traditional 22-episode order following Disney's acquisition of 20th Television, which rendered Fox as a stand-alone network.[43] According to Spelling, the creative team's intention was to do a continuing series, but the network opted for a limited episodic order so they could expedite production for a summer debut.[44] Since then, both Garth and Spelling have stated they did not know about the shortened episode order until Fox formally announced the series.[45] In April, the series was retitled BH90210.[46]
Casting
Garth and Spelling, who spearheaded the project,[40] were confirmed to play heightened versions of themselves on March 11, 2018.[36] That December, Priestley, Ziering, Green, and Carteris were confirmed to have signed on, also playing fictionalized versions of themselves.[39] On February 1, 2019, Spelling said that Luke Perry would return for "as many [episodes] as he can do," given his prior commitment to Riverdale, and that there was "no status right now" as to whether Shannen Doherty would return.[41] On March 4, Perry died after suffering a stroke, and had not officially signed on,[47] although he had been involved creatively before his death.[11][48] On April 26, Doherty's return was confirmed.[46] Doherty has since stated she did not intend to join the show, but did so after Perry's death to honor him.[49]
On May 30, La La Anthony became the first non-alum actor to be cast in the recurring role of Shay, Green's fictionalized wife.[12] The following day on May 31, Vanessa Lachey was cast as Camille, Jason Priestley's fictionalized wife, in a recurring role.[18] On June 5, Ivan Sergei joined the supporting cast as Nate, Spelling's fictionalized husband. Sergei had previously starred with Spelling in the 1996 television film Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?.[19] Christine Elise, who reoccurred on the original series as Emily Valentine, joined the cast on June 17.[50] Upon the series' announcement, Elise reached out to Alberghini and Chessler about joining.[17] On July 15, it was reported that Natalie Sharp has joined the cast as a new character named Anna.[21] Sharp, who dyed her hair red for the role, was cast the day before she began filming.[22] On July 30, Spelling announced that Denise Richards has joined the cast, also portraying a heightened version of herself. Richards had previously appeared on an episode of the original series as Robin McGill, Kelly's cousin.[24] Carol Potter, who starred in the original series as Cindy Walsh, was also reported to be making an appearance.[16]
Writing
Garth and Spelling developed the idea alongside Alberghini and Chessler.[39] According to Spelling, they wanted to avoid creating a traditional reboot in the vein of the CW series and create "something that would cause noise and be groundbreaking just like [the] original show was back in the ‘90s."[11] Garth and Spelling then approached the original cast about appearing, leading to months of creative conversations to flesh out the concept and develop fictionalized versions of themselves.[13] According to Carteris, some cast members initially disagreed with Garth and Spelling's meta pitch and pushed "for a pure reboot, but that majority, I think, of what brought [the cast] forward was the idea that it wasn't."[51] Ziering noted that the cast left themselves "vulnerable" and open to mining their real lives for storylines,[5] while Garth said the series would lean into the pre-existing perceptions people had about the cast, but "take back the power, spin it and use it to tell these stories was an interesting angle for everyone involved."[52] Priestley noted that while the meta show within a show premise differentiates the series from other reboots, it will still follow some traditional conventions in the current trend of reviving older shows.[53] While the writers looked to other shows with similar concepts, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Episodes, as examples, Chessler considered this series more challenging because it featured an entire ensemble playing themselves rather than just one actor.[38] The main cast remained creatively involved in the process and serve as executive producers,[11][46] On May 16, Paul Sciarrotta was announced as the series' showrunner, replacing Patrick Sean Smith, who left the series alongside two unnamed writers.[54] The writers' departures reportedly stemmed from disagreements with some of the actors and an executive overseeing the project.[55]
The writing staff had one week per episode to break the story and write the script.[56] According to Garth, writing took place concurrently with filming, which allowed for their real life experience on-set to be incorporated into the show's storylines.[57] Initially conceived as a half-hour comedy in the vein of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the series was redeveloped into an hourlong format.[58] Garth described the series as a "soapedy," giving its unique blend of comedy, drama, and soap opera elements.[52] Garth stated the new series would ignore the CW revival, on which she was prominently featured, as they aimed "to move away from that sort of image and go back to the original concept."[59] Sciarrotta said the writers were conscious not to make the dialog pertaining to television production "too inside baseball."[56] Doherty stated Perry's death would be addressed in the first episode.[60] According to Alberghini, the writers and cast scrapped various iterations of acknowledging Perry's passing in the show, before reaching what they felt was the most respectful approach.[52]
Filming
Filming took place in Vancouver, with production dates from May 21 to July 31, 2019.[61] Principal photography with most of the cast began on May 27,[62] whereas Doherty began filming on June 14.[63] Spelling later confirmed filming would wrap on August 2.[24] Spelling noted that they worked on an abbreviated schedule, with filming taking place as scripts were still being written.[64] Scenes taking place at the fictional West Beverly Hills High School were filmed at Vancouver Technical Secondary School.[38] Because of the show within a show premise, many of the production facilities were used on camera; according to Spelling, their makeup artists and trailers appeared in scenes in which the characters were getting their hair and makeup done.[45] On set, the fictionalized characters were referred to by their initials to avoid confusion from the actors' speaking in the third person.[15] Costume designer Mandi Line collaborated heavily with each actor to develop their wardrobe, which included recreations of specific outfits worn on the original series.[65]
Fox cancellation and potential future
Though BH90210 was advertised as an event series, Garth and Spelling had indicated that future seasons are possible.[44][66] They elaborated that future episodes or seasons would "delve into actual scenes" from the show within a show.[38] Ziering revealed that the original pitch suggested 13 episodes, the final of which would have incorporated this concept and would have taken place entirely in the world of the original series.[67] Spelling stated they decided to end the season finale with a cliffhanger, explaining: "In our minds, writing the last episode was foreshadowing another season. Going forward, the second season would be more laser-focused on the reboot."[20]
On November 7, 2019, it was announced that Fox had canceled the series after one season.[68] Michael Thorn, the network's president of entertainment, stated, "To sustain something that meta and heightened in the long-term is incredibly hard. We always kind of envisioned it as an event… So we felt like to do it as a short-term event where you could just catch up with these actors that you love and do something that was wildly different was a great way to honor the legacy of the show."[69] Carteris indicated that the series was being shopped elsewhere,[70] Garth also stated they were working on finding a new network for the show, and added the confusion over its cancellation could help fuel future storylines.[71] In December, Garth stated that discussions of where to take the series were still ongoing, noting that a different iteration of the show or a movie were both possibilities.[57] In June 2020, Spelling reiterated that a second season was unlikely, but that she and Garth were in pre-production on a project to commemorate the original show's 30th anniversary in October.[72] In March 2021, Garth and Spelling stated on their podcast, 9021OMG, that "it was supposed to be at Fox and taking it somewhere else felt[...] a little weird."[45]
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 69% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.61/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though BH90210's strange take on the 'reboot' doesn't always hit its mark, it still proves an endearingly wild trip thanks to its committed cast's continued chemistry."[80] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[81]
Several critics were given the first two episodes to review.[6][82][83] Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a 'B' grade in her review, calling "a poignant and funny meditation on midlife mortality. She also complimented Garth's performance, noting she delivered "comedic asides with unexpected precision."[84] Uproxx's Kimberly Ricci thought the series "presents an interesting (and refreshing) perspective because it kind of hates itself," and praised the performances for their "self-mockery."[85] Judy Berman of Time gave a positive review and praised the series' novel premise, dubbing it "the audiovisual equivalent of a beach read that’s smarter than it needs to be."[86] Anne Easton of Forbes gave the episodes a favorable review, complimenting the "witty, quippy, and snarky" writing and opining that Spelling "matured in her thespian abilities, showing more range in both her comedic, and, well, intentional overdramatic moments."[82] Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker called the series "just smart enough to feel clever, just silly enough to feel relaxing, a guilty pleasure by design," and praised the performances, particularly that of Carteris, whom Nussbaum identified as a breakout and called "oddly affecting."[87] While Gwen Inhat of The A.V. Club addressed the unevenness of the storylines, she felt the six episodes "somehow[...] pulled off being both a valentine to fans and a send-up of the show they fell for in the first place.[88]
Kelly Lawler of USA Today wrote that although the series does not reach the heights of the original, "in a world in which revivals or remakes of popular stories is inevitable, at least this one is weirdly fun."[6] In a separate review ranking BH90210 among other television reboots, Lawler wrote, "it's just a middling soap opera about slightly washed-up celebrities trying to have one last ride," and placed it at number 14 out of 17 shows.[89] Linda Holmes of NPR called the series "cute" and "strange," and wrote that she found it challenging "to give a proper critique of something [that's] more like a bonus feature on a DVD than anything else."[82] Jen Chaney of Vulture appreciated how the meta take "both earnestly and cynically [takes] aim at your nostalgia pleasure centers," and anticipated the series could have strong binge-watching potential.[90] In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Fienberg criticized the "flimsy" execution of the show's premise and the disjointed performances of the cast overall, although he highlighted Garth and Spelling's comedic chemistry, as well as Carteris and Green's performances.[91] Though Willa Paskin of Slate gave the series an "A for effort," she criticized its "try-hard playfulness" and called it "not funny or smart" despite its clever premise.[83] TVLine's Andy Swift was more negative in his review, criticizing the low stakes of the storylines and opining the series "lacks the dramatic intrigue of the original series, but with scripts largely devoid of humor, it doesn’t quite work as a comedy, either."[92] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe felt that the series would be stronger as a half-hour sitcom, and criticized the storylines as "fairly dumb," opining that, "there was little to entice those who tuned in for the premiere, to get a glimpse at everyone, to return for more."[93]
Ratings
Upon its initial broadcast, the premiere episode drew 3.86 million viewers and scored a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic,[28] making it the second-most watched broadcast of the night, as well as the Fox network's most watched non-sports program of the summer.[94] The premiere was also the summer's most-watched program, more than doubling the ratings of its closet competition,
Grand Hotel on ABC.[95]
Subsequent episodes experienced ratings declines, with TVLine reporting that by the fifth episode, the series was performing at 50 percent of its premiere ratings.[96] Overall, BH90210 showed the biggest decline in ratings of all shows airing in the summer season.[95]
According to The Hollywood Reporter, each episode's ratings tended to grow by about 75 percent, in both its demographic and overall viewership, after three days of delayed viewing,[97] which Fox reportedly focuses on instead of live viewings.[95]
