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We have Luke Perry to thank for the Brenda-Dylan-Kelly triangle.
🚨 Beverly Hills, 90210 spoilers ahead!! 🚨
1. The West Beverly High School scenes were filmed at Torrance High School, the same set used for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Fox / The WB
2. Luke Perry originally auditioned for Steve Sanders before eventually landing the part of Dylan McKay.
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
3. Although widely considered one of the show's breakout stars, Dylan wasn't initially intended to be a main character. In fact, he didn't even appear in the pilot.
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
"I was a guest star, and Aaron [Spelling, producer] wanted to make me a regular," Perry said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "The studio didn’t want to pick up the deal, and he used that instance to illustrate an important principle: He gets to pick who’s on the show. He didn’t want me to have to go in the room with the network, but he calmly looked at me and said, 'Go get ’em, kid.'"
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4. Shannen Doherty, who starred as Brenda Walsh, was convinced that she completely "blew" her audition.
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“My audition was horrible,” Doherty said in an interview with the New York Times. “I actually remember walking out and saying: ‘I lost that job. I blew it.’”
Aaron Spelling Prods / Everett Collection
5. Doherty and Jennie Garth (who played Kelly Taylor) reportedly fought frequently on set, with their conflicts sometimes turning physical.
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
According to Garth, the two of them have put the past behind them as adults. "Now, as grown women, we happen to get along as well," Garth said to E! News.
6. However, Tori Spelling, who played Donna Martin, was ultimately the one to blow the whistle. She went to her father (Aaron Spelling) and told him that Doherty needed to be off the show.
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
"I felt like I was a part of something, a movement, that cost someone their livelihood," Spelling said. "Was [Doherty] a horrible person? No. She was one of the best friends I ever had."
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
7. Doherty reportedly had issues with multiple cast members and was frequently tardy to set. However, producer Larry Mollin revealed that the final straw was when the actor decided to cut her hair in the middle of Season 4, throwing off continuity.
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Doherty was written off the show at the end of that season when Brenda departed for London.
8. Gabrielle Carteris, who was 29 at the time of her audition, lied about her age to get the part of Andrea Zuckerman.
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“When I got the role, a lawyer told me I could sign a contract and state a different age, as long as it was over the age of 21,” Carteris said an interview with People. “When [my real age] did come out, the show was just starting to take off and my character was established enough that they did not fire me. But a producer did say to me, ‘You’re lucky we didn’t know your age when we hired you.’”
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9. Andrea's pregnancy storyline was written in at Carteris' request to have the show incorporate her real-life pregnancy.
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10. There was a newsletter in the '90s called "I Hate Brenda" dedicated to trashing Doherty's character, and even an album called "Hating Brenda" by Rump.
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This seems, uh, a tad extreme.
11. Brian Austin Green (who played David Silver) also tried to launch a hip-hop career during his 90210 days.
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Sony BMG Music Entertainment12. The love triangle between Brenda, Dylan, and Kelly happened because Perry requested to work with Garth.
Fox / Everett Collection
"What he said to me was, 'I wanna work with the blonde,'" executive producer Charles Rosin revealed on the Beverly Hills, 90210 Show podcast.
13. Brenda's pregnancy scare, which resulted in her and Dylan breaking up, was written in because the network felt she was "too happy" about having sex.
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Creator Darren Starr said in an interview with the New York Times, "I was strongly advised to write a show that would address the consequences of that sexual experience. So the first episode of the second season Brenda broke up with Dylan because their relationship had gotten too mature."
Aaron Spelling Prods / Everett Collection
14. Donna didn't lose her virginity to her longtime boyfriend, David, until the finale of Season 7 because Aaron Spelling reportedly wasn't comfortable with his daughter having sex storylines.
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15. Tiffany Thiessen, who played Valerie, was dating Green when she was cast. He allegedly wasn't very happy that she was joining the show, because it meant she would be kissing the other 90210 cast members.
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16. According to Jason Priestley (who played Brandon), pretty much everyone in the cast hooked up with each other at some point.
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Priestley dated Christine Elise, who played Emily Valentine, for years during the show.
17. When Priestley left the show in early Season 9, it was on bittersweet terms. "I hugged the crew, picked up my box of stuff, went to my car and drove away. There was no party, no nothing. I felt like I'd wasted nine years of my life," he said in an interview with the Guardian.
Mario Casilli / TV Guide / Fox Network / Courtesy Everett Collection
18. Priestley later said he regretted exiting the show early. He did, however, go on to direct several episodes afterward.
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19. Hilary Swank, who played Carly Reynolds, signed a two-year contract for the show, but was let go after just 13 episodes.
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20. According to producer Charles Rosin, Scott's death was based on a real-life incident where a student died in a Disneyland hotel room on prom night.
Spelling Television / Everett Collection
21. Ian Ziering, who played Steve, once trashed his dressing room because he was upset that a major storyline for his character was cut.
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
22. Donna's abusive boyfriend, Ray, was initially supposed to have a "redemption arc."
Fox
"We had this whole plan. He was going to go to rehab because he was an abused child. We were going to redeem him," Mollin said. However, plans changed when the audience began sending in letters calling Donna "stupid" for staying with her abuser.
23. And finally, Lyman Ward — best known for playing the dad in Ferris Bueller's Day Off — originally played Jim Walsh in the pilot.
Paramount Pictures / Getty Images / Fox / Everett Collection
The role was eventually recast with James Eckhouse.
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