BH90210 season 1's ending was as fittingly weird as the rest of the reboot has been, but what does it all mean for the future? The original cast of Beverly Hills 90210 reunited (sadly, without the late Luke Perry) in an unusual revival of the 1990s series that made them stars and helped define the FOX network. But in a meta twist, instead of playing their characters in a continuation of 90210, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, and Brian Austin Green played heightened versions of themselves as they reunited to launch a reboot of Beverly Hills 90210.
With Tori Spelling leading the way and learning the ropes as a producer, the West Beverly Gang had to overcome numerous obstacles as they tried to shoot the pilot episode of their 90210 reboot. From a miserable script that needed a page-one rewrite, a fire destroying the Peach Pit set, to a stalker sending threatening dolls to the cast, the 90210 cast finally managed to get their pilot (directed by Priestley) in the can. In the BH90210 season 1 finale, "The Long Wait", they learned that they narrowly beat out a reboot of The O.C. - the most successful Beverly Hills 90210 "imitator" on FOX - for a slot on the network's fall schedule. Meanwhile, tons of interpersonal drama took place, including Gabrielle Carteris exploring her feelings for women. Carteris slept with Christine Elise, the FOX executive overseeing the 90210 reboot, and her husband Chris finally found out - but he remains supportive of Gabrielle's journey of self-discovery (for now).
In real-life, BH90210 is itself a reboot of Beverly Hills 90210 but it was about fictional versions of the real actors trying to launch a reboot of 90210. If that isn't confusing enough, BH90210 spliced in dream sequences continuing the story of 90210's characters, revealing that Brandon Walsh owned the Peach Pit with Kelly Taylor and Donna Martin has been happily married to David Silver for 20 years - the latter, especially, is a major plot point of the cast's 90210 reboot. BH90210's season 1 finale also dropped the series' strangest (and grossest) dream sequence yet when Shannen Doherty dreamed she was Brenda Walsh in bed with her twin brother Brandon - and they shared a kiss. Thankfully, Shannen was as repulsed by that as the audience was. From questions about a new character's paternity to marriage troubles to Ian Ziering's pattern of "toxic masculinity", here's what else went down in BH90210's season 1 ending and what it all means for season 2.
The 90210 Reboot Is Greenlit - But Who Will Be Cut From The Show?
The West Beverly Gang's 90210 reboot's green light from FOX came with several catches: the pilot episode will be reshot from scratch with a new writer - meaning Anna (Natalie Sharp), who wrote the original pilot, is fired. But worse, due to monetary issues (stemming from how the pilot they delivered came in over-budget), the new 90210 pilot will be shot in Canada instead of on-location in Beverly Hills, and the network "can't afford" to bring the entire cast back so at least one actor will be cut. Considering how the 90210 cast went from being resentful of being reunited to truly appreciating each other, this wrinkle threatens to end their hard-won sense of family and unity.
As for who will be cut from the 90210 reboot, the most likely victim is Shannen Doherty. In real-life, Doherty was a holdout who only joined BH90210 to honor Luke Perry after his death - though she came to admit "it's kind of nice to be back". In the context of the show, Doherty holding out to join the reboot was a negotiating tactic so she would have the biggest salary compared to her fellow BH90210 actors. If budget is FOX's concern, cutting the expensive Shannen makes sense. Additionally, outside of providing advice and her winking against her troublemaking reputation with her new calm, animal-saving persona, Doherty had little to do on BH90210. But another possibility to be cut is Gabrielle Carteris, who might remain in LA to save her marriage. However, being 'cut' from the second 90210 pilot doesn't necessarily mean the real-life actor won't appear in BH90210 season 2.
Who Is Really Zach's Father?
Brian Austin Green's life was upended when his new assistant Zach Reynolds (Ty Woods) told him he was his illegitimate son. Green accepted Zach as his son almost immediately; he recalled a fling he had on the set of the original Beverly Hills 90210 with Zach's mother, who was an unnamed extra. Green took a shine to Zach being his son because it gave him someone in his life who was "his" and not tied to his pop star wife Shay (La La Anthony) and their three children together. However, Shay didn't trust Zach or take him at his word and she had a DNA test run on Zach, which revealed that Zach isn't Brian's biological son after all. (Zach wasn't lying; his mother believed Brian was the father and told him so.)
BH90210's season 1 ending threw in a new wrinkle in the mystery of Zach's real father when Jason Priestley saw an old photo of Brian and Zach's mom. Priestley immediately had a flashback to meeting Zach's mother on the day the photo was taken - implying that Jason Priestley is really Zach's father (there's more of a resemblance, including their hairstyles, than there is between Zach and Brian). Considering Jason and his wife Camille (Vanessa Lachey) had just agreed to end their marriage because she was pregnant with someone else's baby, it turns out Jason Priestley could be a father, after all - something BH90210 season 2 will further explore.
D0 Jennie Garth And Jason Priestley Really Love Each Other?
Jennie Garth ended her fling with her bodyguard Wyatt (Brendan Penny) when she was horrified that he got a tattoo with her initials on his chest. To Garth, her bodyguard (whom she originally just called "Bodyguard", which was possibly a nod to the UK series Bodyguard starring Richard Madden) was getting too serious and didn't really understand her. This brought her back to the one man who always seems to "get" Jennie and doesn't seem to mind "how much work" she is because she's "worth the wait": Jason Priestley.
Despite sleeping together in BH92010's first episode, Jennie kept Jason at arms-length and treated him with low-key hostility, something Priestley definitely noticed (but didn't seem to mind). But considering what a fan-favorite couple Brandon Walsh and Kelly Taylor were on Beverly Hills 90210, Jennie abusing Jason on BH90210 was definitely jarring for fans. However, by the end of "The Long Wait", Garth and Priestley found themselves back on the same side, with Jason gently kissing Jennie's hand at the FOX Upfronts. BH90210 season 2 could finally have "real-life" imitate art by bringing Priestley and Garth together romantically.
Will Tori Spelling And Brian Austin Green End Their Bad Marriages For Each Other?
Both Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling are living in the shadow of their characters Donna Martin and David Silver's "perfect" fictional marriage, which highlights how unhappy both are with their own relationships. As Spelling embarked on the high-pressure role of producer of the 90210 reboot, she felt she got no support from her resentful husband Nate (Ivan Sergei), an ex-hockey player with poor career prospects who isn't suited to be a stay-at-home dad to their six children. Meanwhile, Green has been silently feeling unappreciated and "invisible" in his marriage to Shay, though he's been a good stay-at-home dad to their three kids.
Spelling wasn't shy about her fantasizing about getting together with Green in real life since she still obsesses about how he "took her virginity" on Beverly Hills 90210 (and in real life, so she claims). While their marriages are complicated, BH90210's ending is clearly pulling Brian and Tori closer together. Could they break their vows and try to duplicate David and Donna's happiness in BH90210 season 2?
Is Ian Ziering Stuck Being Steve Sanders?
Like his character Steve Sanders would have, Ian Ziering had trouble adjusting to the realities of dating in 2019 after his marriage ended. Ziering realized everything he knew about dating is now defined as "toxic masculinity" in the #MeToo era but he did manage to charm Anna, the young writer of the 90210 pilot. However, Anna has a strict "NSA: No Strings Attached" policy, especially when it comes to dating actors, which left Ziering - who desperately wants to remarry and start a family - in a lurch. At the FOX Upfronts, Ian ran into Denise Richards, who once guest-starred on Beverly Hills 90210 before she became famous, and they had a one-night stand - only for Ziering to learn that Anna is Denise's daughter.
Ziering's storyline is BH90210's most perfect recreation of a Beverly Hills 90210 dilemma that Steve Sanders would find himself in, which cleverly means that the actor is living out his character's problems in real life. BH90210's season 1 finale cemented this with a dream sequence where Ian meets a younger Steve in the Peach Pit to pass on the West Beverly legacy key - but it's really the legacy of being trapped as a Steve Sanders-type in 2019 that Ziering has to grow out of in BH90210 season 2.