Priestley talks about directing the OH!

In January, Jason Priestley is back to his Beverly Hills roots to direct an episode of that series’ spin-on, 90210, where he’ll direct former cast mate Jennie Garth.

Priestley says he still talks “quite regularly” with Garth, whose character, Kelly, was once linked to his, Brandon. That fueled initial speculation that Brandon was the father of Kelly’s son, Sammy, in the new series, though the dad turned out to be Dylan. That was bad news for Sammy, because Luke Perry, who played Dylan, has stressed that he won’t be back.

Priestley insists that despite his return to directing, he won’t be back in front of the camera either.

“I just think there really wasn’t anything interesting for me to do as Brandon on that show,” he says.

Would playing Sammy’s dad have been interesting?

“No, that was their choice, you know? That’s their deal, and that’s totally cool,” he said. “I think that ultimately [Dylan being the dad] made more sense given Kelly and Dylan, given their relationship and given the fact of … who Brandon was and sort of how Brandon and Kelly left it when Brandon left town.

Ratings: DVR numbers boost ‘90210,’ ‘Grey’s’ premieres

The fall TV season launched three weeks ago, and today we finally learned how all the shows that debuted during premiere week are doing, ratings-wise, when you factor in DVR playback. The show that garnered the largest DVR audience was — no surprise here — ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, which added a hefty 4.3 million viewers to its initial tally of 16.8 million during its two-hour season premiere on Sept. 25. (If you’re wondering why CBS’s powerhouse CSI didn’t top the list, remember that it premiered two weeks later, on Oct. 9.) Those 4.3 million additional viewers represent a very important 26 percent increase forGrey’s.

Fox’s House and NBC’s Heroes added 3.8 and 3.2 million viewers via DVR, respectively, to round out the top three in the most-DVRed category. The strugglingHeroes, which is averaging just 9.5 million viewers in same-day viewing, especially needed the boost. As for the most-DVRed comedy? Another no-brainer: CBS’s Two and a Half Men, which boosted its initial 13.9 million viewers by 15 percent, with an additional 2.1 million viewers from DVR. No other comedies even cracked the Top 10, in terms of total DVR viewership.

Another super-interesting aspect of these numbers is the shows that receive the greatestpercentage increase in viewers after DVR numbers are included. The CW’s new 90210 (pictured) handily took top honors there, boosting its viewership by 43 percent (or 1.1 million pairs of eyeballs) over the meager 2.5 million that originally tuned in. How could this have happened? Fans may have been watching CBS’s NCIS, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, or Fox’s House live at the same time and just decided to tune in to 90210 later. While certainly good news for 90210, this does reveal that a large proportion of the show’s viewers don’t necessarily consider it important enough to watch in real time.

Interestingly, few of TV’s biggest shows — particularly CBS shows, which have all come out of the gate pretty strongly this season — populate the top of this list. Series on The CW — such as newbie Privileged (30 percent increase), Gossip Girl (28 percent increase), America’s Next Top Model (27 percent), and One Tree Hill (26 percent) — fill out the top 10, alongside NBC’s The Office (40 percent) and Heroes (37 percent), and Fox’s Fringe (36 percent), House (35 percent), and Prison Break (27 percent). While topping this percentage-increase list is indeed notable, keep in mind that most of these shows still draw a relatively small audience overall.

He’s Baaaaccckkk…..Sort of

Lets start with the super good news: Shannen Doherty has signed on to star in two additional episodes of 90210 this season!!!

The show has been trying to gather all of the original cast together for some time now.

So far, they’ve managed to score Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty. And now it looks like Doherty’s one-screen brother, Jason Priestly, is set to return as well. Well, kind of.

Priestley will remain behind the camera as a director, not too unlike the role he eventually took on in the original series.

Will Priestley end up directing Doherty?

Executive producer Gabe Sachs said 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. But we don’t know whether that will happen yet.”

More likely Priestley will be directing Garth, who is slated to return for even more episodes, despite rumors otherwise.

Now they just gotta hook Tori Spelling and Luke Perry. Some BAG would be good too!

Source: Perez Hilton

Guess the 90210 star…..

 

Comments welcome.

Shannen “Hated Brenda Sometimes”

Shannen Doherty dished about her character Brenda Walsh in an interview with Details magazine.

“There were moments when I hated Brenda, but there were other moments when I saw vulnerability and greatness in her, and believed her passion for life would make her a great actor but not someone you would necessarily want to hang out with.

I don’t think Brenda was a complete brat. She was fueled by her insecurities: not being from Beverly Hills, not feeling safe in that environment. And then the love of her life was stolen from her. That can really injure a young girls esteem.”

As for reprising her role as Brenda on the new 90210:

“We all agreed we’d see how it goes. I can pay my mortgage and ride my horses because of those [original 90210] fans, is how I can repay them.”

90210’s Druggie Adrianna Speaks

One of 90210’s most exciting characters, Adrianna might die from a drug overdose! In an upcoming episode there is mention of someone “not breathing” and it’s probablly Annie’s frenemie Adrianna.

PopWrap had an exclusive interview with Jessica Lowndes, who plays Adrianna, and she dished on what’s coming up on 90210:

Pop Wrap: Was this drug spiral the plan for Adrianna all along?
Jessica Lowndes: I didn’t know where they were going to take my character – when I signed on I was just the girl who sang in the school musical. I was pleasantly surpsied by the depth they gave her and the juicy material they gave me. It’s been so much fun.

PW: Do you feel a pressure to avoid becoming the cliche druggie on a teen drama?Jessica: Totally, I don’t want to make a mockery out of it. I did tons of research for all the drug stuff and it’s a serious problem all across the country. You wouldn’t believe the statistics of how many kids are stealing their parents vicodin and OxyContin for themselves.

PW: Watching Adrianna is like riding a roller coaster – ditto with playing her?
Jessica: It’s been so much fun – I’m pushing my boundaries as an actress too because I go to work and think “how am I going to be high on cocaine today?” Everyone I’ve been working with has been super supportive.

PW: Last week’s episode ended with you moving up in the drug food chain – and next week’s preview talks about someone OD-ing, should I be worried about losing Adrianna?
Jessica: You can take it like that, yep! All I am going to say is that next week is one of my favorite episodes. It’s basically the peak of Adrianna’s addiction and it was really interesting for me to play. They let me do some crazy stuff with my hair and just play with ideas that I had. I was able to use so much creative freedom, it’s really a shocking episode.

PW: The original “90210″ had Scott accidentally shooting himself to warn teens about gun violence – do you get sacrificed to the morality gods?
Jessica: I don’t know – we’ll see, but I’m still on set, so that says something! Truthfully, I’m hoping Adrianna just gets better so people can see that yes, this was a horrible way to deal with her situation but you can get better and recover. I’d like to be that kind of morality tale.

PW: How involved have you been in making sure the writers were being true to who you think Adrianna is?
Jessica: I just want to make sure I’m as real as possible and saying what my character would really say. I think the more depth, the better. Next week you’ll see Adrianna in her house, in that crazy homelife. Because I’m playing such a mean character I want people to feel for her – to understand where she’s coming from.

PW: And where exactly was Adrianna coming from when she called Shannen Doherty a washed up actress?
Jessica: Oh my god, it’s crazy right? I play such a bitch! That was a dream, I’m still pinching myself that I got to work with her. I was so excited when Shannen signed on – but bring back Dylan McKay! They’re talking about him a lot [on the show] and he’s a little bit of a hunk, I have a little crush on him. Oh, I’m just being modest – he’s super sexy! (laughs)

PW: I think we’d all like to see Luke Perry back in the zip, but I hear he’s not interested.
Jessica: Well, I’ve heard mixed things – I hear he’s busy filming now but after that’s over he’d consider it. I just think he was waiting to see the show and how it was received – but he is a fan, he likes it.

PW: Did you always know you wanted to be an actress?
Jessica: I told my parents when I was 4 years old that I was going to move to Hollywood and they were so fantastic about it. I met a producer right before I went into 12th grade who said he’d represent me once I was out of high school – so I decided I wasn’t going back. I home schooled my senior year in 3 months. The day I got my license I drove to Hollywood. I’m pretty determined and I always knew that I wanted this.

PW: You’re a musician too – that’s really you singing on the show, right?
Jessica: Yes. The year I didn’t go back to high school I was able to make this demo CD with my best friend after going through this breakup which made me hate men for two weeks. I ended up sitting next to a producer on a flight and we started chatting and the next thing I knew he bought my song “Goodbye” for the CBS show “Moonlight.” And “90210″ used my song “Fly Away” in the pilot – it’s been so fun.

PW: So is a CD in your future?
Jessica: That would be a dream for me. I’d love to and hopefully when I have some more free time I can write more. Ultimately though, I’d like to live in New York City and be on Broadway.

PW: Well, now that you know so much of “Spring Awakening’s” score…
Jessica: What’s funny is Jonathan Groff [an original castmember in "SA"] played my boyfriend in a pilot that didn’t get picked up and he’d be on set singing it, so when this audition came around it felt like fate. I knew every single song and the role had to be mine! I was bedridden with strep throat so I just downed tons of throat spray and did my thing.

PW: Clearly it went well
Jessica: Yea, I had literally just landed home in Vancouver when I got the call. They told me to come back to LA, they needed me on set tomorrow and they were going to chop all my hair off. It was a crazy thing that only sunk in a few weeks ago.

PW: Well now you’ll just have to make sure Adrianna doesn’t die!
Jessica: Oh trust me, I love being on this show, I’m very proud of it. I’m having so much fun right now – I don’t want to go anywhere!

Gossip Guy to 90210 Girls: “Eat a Cheeseburger”

Thought the East-West rivalry went down with Biggie?

Think again. Soon after it was suggested that 90210 would stage an intervention to keep its female stars from shrinking before our eyes, Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley had something to say about it. He said he’s “never been [a] proponent of the thin L.A. girls,” reports Pop Eater.

Badgley contrasted 9-0’s thin females to the “healthy” ladies of his NYC drama, who “aren’t bone-thin,” he said. The actor topped off his comments by echoing TVGuide.com readers with one piece of advice to the Beverly Hills actresses: “I hope they eat a double cheeseburger or something.”

Despite throwing down some regional fighting words, Badgley subscribes to his own philosophy. He’s rumored to be dating one of those healthy (and gorgeous) Gossip girls, Blake Lively.

Badgley’s comments may catalyze a little coastal rivalry, but they’re wise words nonetheless. Yet, is he being too harsh on TV newest starlets? Or should more young stars be speaking out against tiny Hollywood bodies? — Anna Dimond

More Episodes Means New Faces

With a full season pick up, you get a new face.

The CW’s 90210, which on Monday was granted a full-season order — the first brand-new series to merit such an honor — is rounding out its cast a bit further.

TVGuide.com has learned exclusively that Michael Trevino, who might either be familiar to you from his run on FX’s The Riches or CBS’ short-lived Cane, has landed the role of Ozzie, a new student at West Bev.

Further details on Oz (including his first appearance) are expected shortly, held up only by a last-minute decision to tweak a bit of his back story.

Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll

It was only a matter of time until “90210″ devoted an episode to sex. And with the curtain finally going up last night on West Beverly’s musical — and that musical being the hormones-in-overdrive rocker “Spring Awakening” — the time, naturally, had arrived.

Like so many teen-drama heroines before her, Annie Wilson suddenly finds herself facing the is-this-or-isn’t-this-the-right-time-to-lose-my-virginity dilemma. Between making out with male lead Ty both onstage and off, the understudy (and eventual star, but more on that in a minute) comes to the conclusion that she does, on the plus side, like him. A lot. So what if just last week she was pondering a romance with Ethan? The girl’s clearly not in Kansas anymore.

Before Annie can make any decisions, though, nearly everyone in the ZIP Code must weigh in. Naomi, who proudly announces she and Ethan did it almost immediately, can’t believe her sheltered new classmate would consider not. As she puts it, “You’re friends, right? You should explore the benefits.” Mom Debbie is much more relaxed about the possibility than Cindy Walsh ever would’ve been. But Principal Dad Wilson, who caught Annie kissing Ty in the wings, is most definitely not cool with it. His “mistake” made him a teenage father (though he didn’t know it until just weeks ago when he returned to Beverly Hills). And then there’s Dixon. Annie’s brother is momentarily shocked when — before heading off to the post-show party at the Roosevelt — she hits him up for the condom he’s been carrying around in his wallet for four years. 1– Four years? Is Dixon learning about the effectiveness of birth control from Principal Dad Wilson? And 2 — Having characters acknowledge how creepy it is for a brother to give his sister his condom does not actually make it any less creepy. Were there no other options? Did Donna Martin’s speech to the PTA do absolutely no good?!

In the end, Annie decides not to hook up with Ty, at least for now. (In fact, the only peeps who do the deed are Naomi’s parents, and they’re now getting a divorce. So maybe it was a wise move.) Of course, she now believes the West Beverly player cheated on her since glassy-eyed Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) answered his hotel room door wrapped in a towel. I gotta say, I didn’t quite get why a sobbing Annie then stopped to fill in Ethan and Naomi, of all people, on what happened. Would she really turn to the guy she surely still has some feelings for and his girlfriend in a situation like that? On the other hand, the twist at the end with Adrianna was nifty. It turns out the actress was just acting when she purred all that nastiness. (“He didn’t tell you to meet him too, did he? Well, I’ll go tell him his next appointment is here.”) Probably because she was high. But most certainly because Annie got to perform her role in the musical. It may have been Brenda Walsh who made the call but, for now, Annie Wilson’s paying the price.

Is this just the beginning of a showdown between Annie and Adrianna? Were you surprised when Adrianna opened the shower curtain and Ty wasn’t there? And were there enough Brenda/Kelly scenes in this episode?

–Shawna Malcom

90210 gets picked up for nine more episodes!

It looks like Kelly Taylor is sticking around for a while.

After the success of 90210’s first three weeks on the air, the CW network has given a green light to nine more episodes of the remake, making it the first new show of fall to be picked up for an entire season.

Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment for the network, told Variety the show is “another step forward in building a cohesive schedule that defines this network as a destination for young women with shows that get our audience talking — and watching.”

The show had the highest rated series premiere of the network. The audience cooled in the second episode but went back up last week when Shannen Dohertyrevealed the father of Kelly’s son. (Hint to Luke Perry: You have nine more chances to return as Dylan before the fans really do go crazy!)