Beverly Hills, 90210 (TV series)
"Beverly Hills, 90210" is a groundbreaking television series that aired in the early 1990s, showcasing the lives of affluent teenagers living in Beverly Hills. Unlike typical shows of its time, it delved into serious social issues such as race relations, AIDS, eating disorders, and sexual assault, revealing that even the seemingly privileged faced significant challenges. The series followed a group of high school friends, allowing viewers to relate to their struggles while enjoying their glamorous lifestyles. It was instrumental in shaping the teen drama genre, influencing subsequent series like "Dawson's Creek" and "The O.C."
The show gained popularity for its realistic portrayal of teenage dilemmas, with story arcs that spanned multiple episodes, allowing characters to grow and evolve over time. "Beverly Hills, 90210" also set cultural trends, reflecting the fashion and technology of the era, and it featured performances from contemporary musical acts at its fictional nightclub, The Peach Pit After Dark. Its success helped the fledgling Fox network thrive and led to several spin-offs, including "Melrose Place" and a reboot titled "90210." The series remains a significant part of television history, influencing the landscape of teen dramas for years to come.
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Subject Terms
Beverly Hills, 90210 (TV series)
Identification Television drama series
Producer Aaron Spelling (1923-2006)
Date Aired from October 4, 1990, to May 17, 2000
Originally intended to focus on twin teenagers who moved to Beverly Hills from Minnesota and are desperate to fit in, the show evolved into an ensemble series, following the twins and their friends from adolescence into adulthood.
The series Beverly Hills, 90210 dealt with such social issues as race relations, AIDS, eating disorders, and rape. Although the show was set in Beverly Hills, an icon of extreme wealth and glamour, its mostly young viewers found that even the “beautiful people” have problems. Viewers could identify with the characters, while vicariously sharing in their privileged lifestyles. The show also began the trend of dramatic series centered on the lives of young adults, inspiring such new shows as Dawson’s Creek, The O.C., and One Tree Hill.
Beverly Hills, 90210 helped the fledgling Fox network survive by offering first-run summer episodes, captivating viewers who sought alternatives to repeat programming and winning fans to such attractive stars as Jason Priestley (who played Brandon Walsh), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh), Luke Perry (Dylan McKay) and Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor). By focusing on the children of millionaires rather than on the millionaires themselves, the series was a departure for producer Aaron Spelling, who had previously targeted older viewers in such series as Dynasty and Fantasy Island.
Centered on a popular high school clique, the show struck a chord with young adults who did not necessarily fit such a profile themselves. To realize that these privileged teenagers did not lead charmed lives but rather had to cope with common troubles engendered a sense of unity among viewers who became invested in the characters’ lives. Young people—and their parents—tuned in to learn how their fictitious counterparts handled problems that they themselves were facing. The show neither shied away from such formerly taboo subjects as teenage sexuality and alcoholism nor offered pat solutions. Typical 1980’s sitcoms had featured peripheral characters plagued by problems they resolved in single episodes, never to be discussed again. Beverly Hills, 90210, however, created story arcs in which main characters dealt with such issues in a realistic manner and time frame. Furthermore, these issues—from drug addiction to cult membership—molded characters’ lives and actions long after the issues were resolved. As viewers may have identified with the characters’ problems, so may they have shared in their struggles to move beyond them.
Spanning the entire decade, the show exhibited the fashions, technology, and music of its period. The rich are often the earliest adopters of the latest trends, and so it was in Beverly Hills, 90210. As soon as Steve Madden shoes and baby-doll dresses appeared in magazines, the show’s characters were wearing them. No sooner did cellular phones appear than did the characters own them. Long before the internet was mainstream, characters were using it to write emails, meet people, and do research. Hit musical acts such as Duncan Sheik and Monica headlined at the show’s nightclub, The Peach Pit After Dark.
Impact
The show’s willingness to tackle controversial subjects rendered it more than just a superficial teenage series. It not only popularized trends of the decade but also spawned similar programs—such as its spin-off Melrose Place, which ran from 1992 to 1999—but they never matched the show’s popularity and longevity. Another spin-off, 90210, which ran from 2008 to 2013, included Garth and Doherty. Beverly Hills, 90210 inspired several other spin-off shows, including Models Inc. (1994–95) and the 2009 reboot Melrose Place. A television movie, The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story, was released in 2015, telling the behind-the-scenes story of the show. In 2018, it was announced that Spelling and Garth were developing a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot featuring most of the original cast.
Bibliography
Andreeva, Nellie. "'Beverly Hills, 90210' Series Reboot with Original Cast Shopped to Networks." Deadline, 20 Dec. 2018, deadline.com/2018/12/beverly-hills-90210-reboot-series-original-cast-stars-shopped-jennie-garth-tori-spelling-jason-priestley-ian-ziering-brian-austin-green-and-gabrielle-carteris-1202524313/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.
Holmes, Venice. The Beverly Hills 90210 Guide. East Lansing, Mich.: New King, 1993.
McKinley, E. Graham. Beverly Hills, 90210: Television, Gender, and Identity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
Spelling, Aaron. Aaron Spelling: A Prime-Time Life. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996.