The 90210 panel at the TCA press tour was full of surprises and information. Creator Gabe Sachs announced right away that the rumors are true and Shannen Doherty will be appearing on the new show, guest starring as a special drama teacher who will direct the high school's musical. Additionally, 90210 will premiere on September 2 with a two-hour pilot.

Doherty joins fellow Beverly Hills 90210 alumni Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling as the three confirmed returning stars, though fans will also get the return of the new and improved Peach Pit, still owned by Nat (Joe E. Tata). Though the producers refused to address specifics about what's happened to those characters, they promised that the roles will be recurring and not just random special cameos.

The cast and producer's resumes were the topic of nearly all the questions at the panel, and with good reason. Showrunners Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah, formerly of Freaks and Geeks, spoke about the need to focus on the storytelling and realism aspects, not getting bogged down with the soap opera elements of the series.

Tristan Wilds, from The Wire, had a relatively easy transition because both characters come from broken homes. AnnaLynn McCord is more than excited to play another bitchy character following her role on Nip/Tuck, and she also mentioned that fans haven't seen the last of her conniving Eden on the FX drama.

Jessica Walter, who played Lucille on Arrested Development, also spoke about the subtle differences between that character and her drunken grandmother on 90210: “Lucille liked vodka and Tabitha likes scotch.”  There was also speculation about whether Jessica Stroup's character, named Silver, is any relation to David Silver (Brian Austin Green) from the original, but the producers were mum on that subject except to say we would know the answer by the end of the pilot.


Check back with BuddyTV over the next week for more updates and scoops live from the TCA press tour.

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-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)