Why was now the right time for a Beverly Hills, 90210 revival? We asked series star Jennie Garth, 47, that very question this week, while discussing the highly-anticipated new series. And she told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY, “Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re not getting any younger. So I think now’s a good time. And everybody was drawn together by sort of a universal force and everybody’s desire and interest sort of peaked at the right time. And we came together as a cast and we didn’t know how that would go over with everybody.”
She further explained, “And Tori [Spelling] and I had been working towards getting this project going for the last two years, sold it to CBS, partnered with FOX and got the rest of the cast on board. Now they’re all 100% on board and producing it with us. And it’s really become this great collaborative effort where everybody’s very invested and very proud and we all want to make something different and to make something original and unique. And that is what this new iteration of 90210 will be.”
And don’t count on the new show acknowledging The CW’s own reboot that came before this (2008-2013) — Jennie said they’ll “pretend” that show “never happened”. The new Fox series will be a 6-episode semi-revival and it’ll premiere on Wednesday, Aug. 7. And the cast will be playing heightened versions of themselves, with stories “inspired by their real lives and relationships.” Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, Shannen Doherty, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, Tori and Jennie are all set to return, however, Luke Perry won’t be a part of the reboot, as he died on March 4 after suffering a stroke.
Jennie is super excited about the forthcoming revival of 90210, but she’s also working with Kinder Joy and their new partnership with The Birthday Party Project — a non-profit organization that spreads joy by hosting monthly birthday parties for children living in homeless and transitional living facilities. Through the partnership, Kinder Joy is helping to bring the magic of birthdays to children in need by donating $50,000 to sponsor birthday parties for hundreds of children in shelters across the country. “As a mom, I have three kids and I’ve always had the means to be able to throw birthday parties for them. But there are so many people out there that don’t have the resources to throw parties for their kids and people living in homeless shelters and transitional living facilities. So that’s where the birthday party project comes in. They go into these places and throw parties for kids who wouldn’t get to have a birthday party otherwise, complete with birthday presents and decorations and a cake and just fun games and toys and everything,” Jennie told us.