Beverly Hills’ original sideburned heartthrob is back! Sort of.
Jason Priestley has agreed to do an episode of The CW’s 90210 later this season, but you won’t see him — he’ll be behind the camera, working as a director. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Priestley will helm this season’s 18th episode, which is slated to air this spring.
Meanwhile, a 90210 insider also reveals that Priestley’s TV sis, Shannen Doherty, is nearing a deal to return for two more episodes later this season. Executive producer Gabe Sachs would only confirm that she’s “in talks,” but my 90210 spy insists “she’s coming back. The deal isn’t officially done, but it’s happening.”
Might one of Doherty’s two episodes be the Priestley-directed installment? Sachs says that’s TBD. “I think it would be a kick for Jason to work with any of his [former 90210 costars], and it would also add something special to that episode,” he says. “But we don’t know whether that will happen yet.”
A more likely scenario has Priestley bossing around his other leading lady, Jennie Garth, who’s back for at least six episodes — despite what the actress herself told me at EW’s pre-Emmy party last month. “That was a misunderstanding,” whispers a source.
For more on Priestley and Doherty’s comebacks, and to get the latest on efforts to lure Luke Perry and Tori Spelling back to the fold, pick up the new issue of EW, on sale this Friday. In the meantime, weigh in with your reaction to what’s shaping up to be quite the 90210 veteran logjam later this season.
More on 90210:
Sound bites from last night’s episode
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We don’t want Jason Priestly back behind the camera–we want him ON camera as Brandon Walsh.
Good news about Shannen and Jennie though.
yeah – i dont care if he directs an episode, he should appear onscreen, dammit
What about everyone else? There were so many people who played supporting roles over the years, it seems like some of them would be thrilled to come back for an episode or two. Will Kelly and Erin’s mom be back? What about Erin’s other parent, or brother? Kelly’s father? Donna’s half-sister, Kelly’s half-sister, Brenda’s parents?
I hope Luke Perry will make a visit. I know Dylan was always an escape artist, but considering everything that happened with his father, I just find it hard to swallow that he would be such a deadbeat dad(regardless of where things stood with Kelly). They’ve got to come up with some better way to explain his absence if the actor won’t visit.
(As an aside, last night’s episode was the most promising yet — less Annie, more imperfect-yet-sympathetic characters. Then, oops, they appear to have killed off the most complex and compelling character there.)
I wouldn’t exactly call Adriana complex…
I think they need some good veteran appearances to just make the show better. I watch the show for entertainment, but the situations are highly unbelievable and contrived.
I’m glad someone else finally said it. There’s no way Dylan would be such a distant or deadbeat dad, given this history he had with his father. They really do need to clean that story up. Oh yeah, glad Jason is back but he does need to be in front of the camera.
Bring Andrea back and have her head the PTA
I 3rd the motion on Dylan. That is a slap in the face to his character by calling him a deadbeat dad. Family meant everything to Dylan because he did not have a happy one. He would never want his own child to have the life he had. The first time he meet Erica (his half sister) he immediately bonded w/her & this is without the proof she was Jack McKay’s father. For heavens sake, he went to Mexico to not only get his $8MIL back but to rescue his ½ sister Erica. He told Jonesy, who was ready to leave because the money was recovered, there was no way he was leaving Erica behind. And when Erica all of the sudden grew up & became a hooker living on the streets in Season 8, after she cleaned up her act, Brandon & Kelly said that Dylan wanted her to live with him & Brenda in London. He & his beloved Toni even took in that black kitten that turned up on his doorstep on Halloween. So you (the writers) are telling me he would abandon his own flesh & blood? NO FRIGGIN WAY AND HELL NO!!
last nite’s episode had no veterans and stank … though i love the cliche druggie don’t kill her and amberlynn mccord needs to act more like her character on nip/tuck
OOPS!! I meant to say: This was before Dylan had proof that Jack was actually Erica’s father. Not “she was Jack McKay’s father”. Sorry, I’m at work and had to type fast on this blog =)
Jonesy: now that was a great character. if Jack ever comes back (again), i’m OUT. talk about a slap in the face, bringing him back in Season 9 or 10(?). i guess Toni died for nothing. as for last night’s episode, the ending was a bit of a shock. and how ’bout the 21 Jump Street angle?
I keep running into the opinion: more old 90210. How many of us are getting attached to the new characters of 90210??
Yes, way to go! You’ve found the worst possible pic of Shannon Doherty ever, thank you for that. And what excactly is Jason Priestly wearing in that picture, a sherpa vest? It’s fun to see Picasso-face and her brother as they were back in the day, yet another reminder that 90210 is as stale as last week’s yogurt.
Hey, if Jennie comes back I might actually start watching again. I couldn’t care less about Shannen returning; her character had no story and really just got in the way of the rest of the show. I agree that seeing Luke would be great, but they murdered the character of Dylan. No way would he ever be a deadbeat dad. Even if, for some strange reason, he and Kelly had split after Sammy was born, he would never just vanish and not come to see them for almost four years. That’s ridiculous.
In a way, I’m kind of glad he isn’t going to be on-camera. Too much temptation to do a Brandon-Kelly story, and they were done when they were done.
I couldn’t stand the self-righteous stories (Kelly against porn, Brandon talking smack to dead guys, etc) and I didn’t think Garth/Priestley had any sexual chemistry (at least not nearly as much as Perry with either of the girls).
crapola
Jason needs to appear on camera. Brandon and Kelly were the best couple. They need to be reunited. I loved their chemistry. It was the perfect balance of sex, romance, friendship, etc. Who cares if Dylan is the father. Dylan should be with Brenda, and Brandon should be with Kelly!
After finally getting to see an episode that did not have any original BH90210 characters, this show doesn’t need Brenda, Kelly, Dylan, Brandon or any of the others. But, if the show really insists on having some originals, bring back Brenda and Dylan and reunite them.
LOL! Craig, I thought the same thing about the 21 Jump Street twist. I was waiting to see if Johnny Depp was going to show up. I know poor Toni (the only woman who accepted Dylan the way he is)died and Jack was hiding in Witness Protection. If I was Dylan, when I first found out he was alive, I would have hit him in the face and say “this is for Toni” and then give him a hug.
leave jason behind the camera unless he helps bring kelly and dylan together. because brenda did say in her last ep that brandon is married and has a family
It’d really be beating a dead horse if they reunited Kelly/Brandon or Brenda/Dylan. The book had closed repeatedly on those pairings when we last saw the gang. It would just kind of point to the fact that they’re all lame adults who haven’t escaped their adolescence. (The series ended with Kelly and Dylan together, so that’s the only one that really makes sense, kid or no kid.) I like seeing adult, mature(ish) Brenda who has her own thing going on and doesn’t pine away after her high school “rebel” boyfriend. (I don’t like seeing her with her scary plastic surgery, but that’s another issue.)
I maintain that Adriana was/is a complex character. Darkest character on the show (with a legitimate background to explain it), tangible struggles in her life, an ugly mean streak, but with small glimpses of a lighter side with a conscience. (As opposed to our alleged protagonist Annie: perfect, boring, zzzzz….)
And where the heck are Steve and Janet and little Maddie? Can’t one of the newbies babysit Maddie or something?
The series ended with Kelly/Dylan together by default because the Walsh twins weren’t on the show. Kelly/Dylan shouldn’t be together in this spinoff. Their relationship was too immature and nauseating. Brandon/Kelly should be reunited, as should Brenda/Dylan. These two pairings had the most chemistry and would be the best endings. They were supposed to end up together in the original anyway.
Oh, and Brenda didn’t say that Brandon is married. Just that he has a family, which can mean anything. He could have kids but may be divorced or a widower. That would actually be a great backstory to reunite Brandon and Kelly.
I’m not a shipper, I don’t care who ends up with you as a necessity. But Brandon/Kelly did not have the best chemistry. They even wrote their lack of chemistry into the show.
And I can’t imagine complaining about Kelly/Dylan’s relationship not being mature and then talking about reuniting Brenda/Dylan in the same sentence? Brenda was, by far, the most immature, self serving character in the entire series (and I loved her for it).
Brandon Needs to be on Screen. I really thought he was going to make a appearence in the last series end on Donna and David’s wedding, but he didn’t. Its about time he came back and Go through with the Wedding of him and Kelly.
it s all good people
Mark, the lack of chemistry between Brandon and Kelly that you speak of was just an excuse for them to not go through with the wedding so that Jason could leave the show. It was ridiculous. If he had stayed, Brandon and Kelly would’ve been endgame on the original show. They had terrific chemistry, the best on the show IMO. Jennie Garth even said when the show originally aired that she liked Kelly best with Brandon.
Brenda may have been immature but her and Dylan had an amazing relationship. They were the show’s original supercouple. Kelly and Dylan, on the other hand, were terrible for each other and I hope they’re broken up forever when Jennie returns.
I stopped watching after Shannon’s episodes ended. I find the “new” cast completely boring. I wish they had just done a show with all the old cast.
YES! More Shannen Doherty! The more episodes she’s in – the more I watch.
Great pic for the annoucement, btw!
They wrote it onto the show well before the wedding. Way back when they were telling all those inside jokes about how their sex life had gotten stale (mid 8th season), after a lot of the critics and fans pointed out that Perry had better chemistry with both girls (and subsequently drew more interest from the fans) then Priestly.
I’m sorry, but Season 7 and 8 of the original series were unbearable. Pretentious, self-righteous and painful to watch. Joey-Dawson 0.5 (which I contend was the worst ship in the history of ships).
I liked both Kelly and Brandon until they threw them back together in Season 7 (I didn’t mind their original run in Season 5).
But I will admit to liking both Brenda/Dylan and Kelly/Dylan a lot more. The show’s writing was a lot better in Seasons 1-4 and Dylan was just far more interesting then Brandon ever was.
The more 90210 vets the better. I am always way more interested in the goings on of Kelly and Co. than anyone else. If they could get Luke Perry, that would be the ultimate.