Of the new series set to premiere on The CW, 90210, the big Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff is definitely getting the most hype. The spinoff will bring us back to West Beverly High where a new family, The Mills will go through a similar adjustment process that the Walsh family did back in the 90’s.
Here’s part of the description of the series that’s posted on The CW’s website.
“An edgy, contemporary spin-off of the iconic drama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” the new 90210 looks at life through the eyes of Annie Mills (Shenae Grimes, “Degrassi: The Next Generation”) and her brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds, “The Wire”), whose first day at West Beverly Hills High School leaves no doubt they’re not in Kansas anymore. The Mills family, including dad Harry (casting TBD) and mom Debbie (Lori Loughlin, “Summerland”), has relocated to Beverly Hills to keep an eye on Harry’s mother Tabitha (Jessica Walter, “Arrested Development”), a feisty-but-faded former television star and a charter member of the Betty Ford Clinic. For Annie and Dixon, the awkwardness of being the new kids is made worse by the fact that their dad has taken a job as the high school principal. The school is one big culture shock for Annie, a sweet and friendly girl with a passion for the theater, and Dixon, a star athlete and scholar who was adopted by the Mills family after they took him in as a foster child.”
That “casting TBD” mentioned in the above description can be modified to say Rob Estes, as it was recently announced that he would be playing the Mills husband/dad. While I’m excited about the spinoff and hope that it’ll become my new guilty pleasure show, I kind of hate that they’re calling it 90210. It’s not that it’s not a fitting name and no, I can offer no suggestions for a better title to the show. I just think it’s going to cause confusion when people reference the series. It’s not like anyone really referred to the original 90210 by its full name (at least not after the first couple of seasons). Anyway, it’s a minor thing I suppose and I’m sure I’ll get over it by the time the spinoff airs.
I love the changes they made to the base story. Rather than the kids being twins, Dixon is adopted. And making the dad the principal is a nice way for the writers to work his role into the show a bit more than just making him the token dad. That’s a step up from the original. I mean don’t get me wrong, Jim Walsh was a decent guy but the only really significant role he played in 90210 (the original one) was to constantly try to keep Dylan away from his daughter. It probably won’t be easy for the Mills kids to adjust to being the new kids at good old West Bev but add on the fact that their dad’s the new principal and that makes for an interesting story.
To view the full CW Fall 2008 schedule, CLICK HERE.
