Ahead of the August premiere of “BH90210,” Fox’s meta-revival of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Tori Spelling says she “never” had a feud with co-star Shannen Doherty, despite the rumors surrounding the actresses following Doherty’s departure from the show after Season 4 in 1994.
“You know what, not for any reason,” Spelling said Monday on the “Daddy Issues” podcast — co-hosted by her husband Dean McDermott, Adam Hunter and Nicky Paris — when asked if she was still close with “Brenda” a.k.a. Doherty. “Like, it’s so funny, they used to… We were really close on the show. Like, she was one of my best friends. And then when she left the show, there were like all these, like, press things that came out, like, this rivalry, and it was never with us!”
“But, you know, the press makes what they want and you don’t want to say anything because you’re told, like, ‘Don’t say anything,” Spelling continued, actors are given the “PR tactic” to “say nothing, and it will go away!”
“But it kind of lives on whenever a story comes out,” she added. “It doesn’t really go away. So yeah, no, she’s great. I saw her recently. She’s an awesome person.”
The original “Beverly Hills, 90210,” created by Darren Star and produced by Tori Spelling’s father, Aaron Spelling, ran for 10 seasons on Fox between 1990 and 2000. It starred Spelling, Doherty, Jason Priestley, Brian Austin Green, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris and Luke Perry (who died in March). “90210” led to multiple spinoffs, most notably “Melrose Place.”
Both Doherty and Spelling are starring on the upcoming meta revival “BH90210,” which will also see the return of Priestley, Green, Garth, Ziering and Carteris to the franchise that launched their careers nearly 30 years ago. In a meta twist, the six-episode series centers on the original cast playing fictionalized versions of themselves — “with a healthy dose of irreverence” — as they try to get a revival of their old show off the ground.
Fox previewed the show at its upfront event last month, where it unveiled a new teaser featuring the original cast.
Shortly thereafter, news broke that Patrick Sean Smith had departed as showrunner on the meta-revival, with Paul Sciarrotta — whose previous credits include “Jane the Virgin” and The CW’s last “90210” reboot series — taking over showrunning duties, and “BH90210” co-creators Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler serving as co-showrunners. Sciarrotta, who has an overall deal with CBS Television Studios, was previously a member of the show’s writing staff.
A number of writers exited the show alongside Smith, though according to an individual familiar with the matter, the writers’ room has since been “beefed up” and is back on track in the wake of the departures.
“BH90210” series is based on a concept by Alberghini, Chessler, Spelling and Garth. Cast members Carteris, Doherty, Green, Priestley and Ziering will also serve as executive producers. It is produced by CBS Television Studios.
“BH90210” premieres Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 9/8 on Fox.