New York Post - 06.08.2019

New York Post, Tuesday, August 6, 2019

nypost.com

TV T uesday

“If you don’t care about what people say, it’s a great 

gig. I do [care], so for me it’s a f---ing nightmare.” 

— Jimmy Kimmel (left) on hosting the Oscars on ABC in 2017 and 2018.

By MICHAEL STARR

T

URNS out that reviving

“Beverly Hills, 90210”

wasn’t such a bad idea —

both in reality and in the fic-

tional world of prime time.

The mockumentary reboot

“BH90210” is a welcome addi-

tion to a stale genre overrun by

the ghosts of glories past — par-

ticularly since the cast of Fox’s

angsty, iconic ’90s teen drama is

in on the joke, winning half the

battle for this type of meta-driven

show to succeed.

The premise of “BH90210”

finds the original core cast —

Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, Brian

Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Ga-

brielle Carteris and Ian Ziering —

playing not-so-exaggerated ver-

sions of themselves. They’re re-

united for a 30th anniversary

panel discussion in Las Vegas

(“90210” premiered in October

1990 on Fox), but while their

adoring fans can only see their

TV heroes through the lens of

feelgood nostalgia, real life has

intruded into the actors’ lives.

Spelling’s cable reality show,

“Spelling the Beans” — a nod to

her real-life series, “Tori &

Dean” — has been axed and she

needs money to support her six

kids (a running joke throughout,

since her father was mega-rich

TV titan Aaron Spelling). A bitter

Priestley slugs an actor on the set

of a TV series who mocks his

“90210” past (“You were a pinup

boy for horny teenaged girls”)

while Green lives in the shadow

of his pop-superstar wife (La La

Anthony). Garth is divorcing her

third husband and bickering with

her teenage daughter, Carteris (at

58 the oldest cast member) is

having a rough time as a new

grandmother while all

Ziering cares about is

his “brand” in the form

of his new Hollywood

workout book.

The actors’ reunion in

Vegas sparks old rival-

ries, jealousies, in-jokes,

forgotten support sys-

tems and resentments,

particularly in the form of co-star

Shannen Doherty, who appears at

the reunion via an Instagram

livestream and whose wild-child

behavior during the run of the

original series was a constant

source of tabloid fodder. An inci-

dent at the reunion results in a

viral video of the original cast

and spurs the finan-

cially strapped Spelling

into action: why not get

the old gang together

and pitch a “90210” re-

boot to Fox? All she has

to do is get them all to

agree to the idea.

Spelling is clearly the

driving force behind

“BH90210” in real life. All the cast

members are executive produc-

ers of this series, but the plot’s

epicenter is this meta version of

high school.” There are a few ex-

traneous plot points that could

have been avoided — no spoilers

— but overall this cast seems to

be having a nice time reconnect-

ing with each other, both in their

real-life and their mockumentary

personas.

The big void here, of course, is

the absence of original “90210”

star Luke Perry, who played

brooding bad boy Dylan McKay

and who died in March at the age

of 52 after suffering a stroke. He’s

gone, but not forgotten by his for-

mer cast members, who pay hom-

age to him several times through-

out — a nice touch that will reso-

nate with fans of the series.

Jason Priestley

(from left), Brian

Austin Green,

Gabrielle

Carteris, Ian

Ziering, Jennie

Garth and Tori

Spelling in

“BH90210.”

Meta revival of

iconic Fox

series features

original stars

IT’S HOT STUFF

Facts from Discovery’s new series

“Serengeti” (8 p.m. Sunday):

It covers 12,000 square miles.

80 percent of the desert is protected.

Animal herds travel an average of

1,800 miles each year

It’s believed the Serengeti is where

human life began.

A LEGEND LIVES

“Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot (near left)

will play legendary actress Hedy Lamarr (far

left) in an upcoming Showtime miniseries

from Sarah Treem (“The Affair”). Lamarr

was also an inventor, and helped develop a

radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes

that was used in World War II and

aspects of WiFi.

SERIES

PREMIERE

“BH90210”

Wednesday, 9 p.m.

on Fox

★★★

Spelling, and she isn’t shy about

poking fun at her public persona

and her personal problems. “She

lacks basic life skills,” is how

Garth describes her best friend

Tori, who does not disagree.

The actors’ self-awareness

doesn’t grow smug, at least in the

first two episodes available for

review, nor does the series smack

of desperation. What you see is

what you get, and each cast mem-

ber has a turn describing their

real-life alter egos. “You know

what’s sexy? A middle-aged white

rapper,” says Green, describing

his career decline, while Garth

avoids a topical discussion with

these words: “I only went to fake

Auli’i Cravalho (below) will play Ariel 

in “The Little Mermaid Live!” airing 

Nov. 5 on ABC.