How the series "Beverly Hills 90210" was filmed: 23 interesting facts about the series and its filming (18 photos)

An American youth television series that tells the story of the twins from the Walsh family who find themselves in the world of golden youth in the Los Angeles area of Beverly Hills, one of the 5 zip codes of which is 90210.





1. In the late 80s, youth series were especially popular, so the Fox studio decided that they needed their own series that would be aimed at young people. True, the studio bosses were afraid that they were entering this “stream” too late. But still, it was decided to try to launch a youth series.

Young screenwriter Daren Starr brought his script to the pilot episode entitled "Beverly Hills Class". And Aaron Spelling was hired as a producer.



Aaron Spelling

And when Spelling read Starr's script, he cringed at so many main characters. He even asked Starr to remove some of the teenagers and instead introduce more adult characters. But Starr refused to remove or add anyone, arguing that such a large number of teenagers would, on the contrary, have a better impact on the future series.

But Aaron Spelling was not convinced by this answer, so he showed the script to his teenage daughter Tori (Future Donna), who was simply delighted. Then Aaron Spelling gave the go-ahead for the script in exactly this form.

2. Before Luke Perry played Dylan, he mostly did odd jobs as a laborer, and also starred in bit parts on little-known daytime soaps, dreaming of a big acting career.





He came to the casting to try out for the role of Steve, but he was not suitable for this role, which greatly upset him. Moreover, Luke Perry was upset to such an extent that he even thought about quitting his acting career.

But when the producers needed an actor to play Dylan, they called Luke. It is noteworthy that initially Dylan was supposed to be just a passing character, appearing in only a couple of episodes, but Aaron Spelling liked the actor’s performance so much that he decided to make Dylan one of the main characters.



3. Jennie Garth auditioned for the role of Kelly several times, and only on the fifth try did she finally manage to get the role.

4. When Ian Ziering auditioned for the role of Steve Sanders, he lied about his real age to get the role. And this is not surprising, because in the story, Steve was only 16 years old, while the actor at that time was already 28 years old.



But Ian Ziering wasn't the only actor who lied about his age. Actress Gabrielle Carteris was 29 years old at the start of filming, although her character (Andrea Zuckerman) was only 16. By the way, the actress originally auditioned for the role of Brenda Walsh.

5. It's no secret that actress Tori Spelling, who played Donna, is the daughter of producer Aaron Spelling. And many believe that she got into the series through connections. But this is not true at all.

Tori Spelling decided to go through the casting herself in secret from her father. Moreover, she initially auditioned for the role of Kelly. Well, so that her father and others would not suspect anything, she came to the casting under the false name Toria Mitchell.



She was not suitable for the role of Kelly, so she was offered the role of Donna. Having learned that Tori would play Donna, Aaron Spelling did not prevent this, but he tried to pay special attention to the character of his daughter. And the first thing he decided was that Donna should be a virgin, and remain so for as long as possible. And so it happened.

6. Oddly enough, the actor for the main role of Brandon Walsh was found at the very last moment. He, like Shannen Doherty, was recommended by Tori Spelling. When Jason Priestley was approved for this role, there were only a few days left before the filming process began, and the project itself was in danger of being closed.



Jason

7. Shannen Doherity, who played Brenda Walsh, had a very bad character. She constantly caused scandals during filming, turned on the “star”, and did not always come to filming on time.

Eventually. Aaron Spelling was fed up with this behavior and decided to fire her. As a result, Shannen Doherty lasted 4 seasons, becoming the first actress from the main cast to leave the series.



As the actress herself admits, her difficult marriage with Ashley Hamilton is to blame. It was because of him that she was constantly late for filming and showed her explosive character.

The actress was incredibly upset about leaving the series, but she didn’t blame anyone for it. She also suggested that Aaron Spelling simply wanted to isolate his daughter from her.



But the most remarkable thing is that a few years later, Shannen Doherty played one of the main roles in the series “Charmed,” which was produced by the same Aaron Spelling.

8. To fill the gap after Doherty left, producers began looking for a new actress. Alicia Silverstone, Drew Barrymore and Alisa Milano were considered for the role of the new female character Valorie Malone. But in the end, this role went to Tiffani Amber Thiesen.



It is noteworthy that Alisa Milano was considered to replace the departed Shannen Doherty, and a few years later they played sisters in the TV series “Charmed.” Although, many of you will certainly remember Alisa Milano for her role as Arnold Schwarzenegger's daughter in the film "Commando".

9. Even before joining the series, Tiffani Amber Thiessen was in a relationship with Brian Austin Green, who played David Silver. True, the actor himself was not delighted when his girlfriend got this role, as he was very jealous of her male colleagues.



10. During filming of the series, Gabrielle Carteris became pregnant. And in order not to suspend filming, and also not to remove the actress from the series, the script was slightly adjusted so that Andrea Zuckerman also became pregnant.

11. Of the entire cast, only 4 actors starred from start to finish throughout all 10 seasons: Jennie Garth (Kelly), Ian Ziering (Steve), Tori Spelling (Donna) and Brian Austin Green (David). And of course, to this four you can add actor Joe Tata, who played the owner of the Peach Pit cafe, Nat.



12. During the filming of the series, Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth constantly quarreled, and generally had quite a lot of conflict. But now, after many years, they communicate well and are even friends.

13. In the story, Valorie Malone dabbled in weed and deftly rolled a cigarette. But the actress Tiffany Amber Thiesen herself couldn’t do it, so in this scene we see the hands of the understudy.

14. The first season of the series did not receive the expected results, which is why the actors were sure that it would be closed and they would have to look for other work. But after the second season, the ratings jumped up, thanks to which the filming of the series could no longer be stopped.



15. Romances often arose between the actors of the series, which in principle is not surprising.

16. Jennie Garth (Kelly), Ian Ziering (Kelly), Brian Austin Green (David) and Tori Spelling (Donna) appeared in another popular series, Merlose Place.

17. Luke Perry himself decided to leave the series in the middle of the sixth season, as he considered that the project had outlived its usefulness and began to deflate. Also, he decided that he was ripe for a big movie. True, he did not gain much popularity. Except that he played a small role in the beginning of the film "The Fifth Element".



And in the middle of season 9, Luke Perry returned to the series Beverly Hills 90210. The reason for this was, of course, financial difficulties.

Luke Perry became the first main cast member to leave this world. The actor died on March 4, 2019 after a massive stroke. At the time of his death he was 52 years old.

18. The role of Donna's lover in the fifth and sixth seasons was played by musician Jamie Walters. According to the actor himself, this role had a negative impact on his musical career. Many female fans came to his concerts with posters that read “Stop hurting Donna.”



19. It was originally planned that a single mother named Carly, played by Hilary Swank, would be on the series for two seasons. But in the end, viewers did not show interest in the character, which is why Hilary left the project after only 16 episodes.



20. Almost all of the main cast members who had previously left the series appeared in the final episode, including Tiffany Amber Thiesen, Gabrielle Carteris and Jason Priestley. But Shannen Doherty did not appear in the final episode.



21. In 1991, the pilot episode of the series “Beverly Hills 90210” was shown in our country on the first CT channel as part of American Film Week. But there was no continuation of the broadcast. Only in 1997 the series began to be broadcast on the STS television channel.

22. In 2008, the series “Beverly Hills 90210. The New Generation” was released, where the actors of the original series also appeared for several episodes - Jennie Garth, Joe Tata, Tori Spelling and even Shannen Doherty.

23. In 2019, the mini-series “BH 90210” was released, which tells about the actors of the original series who decided to meet after 30 years. Almost all the main cast took part in the series, including Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling and Gabrielle Carteris.