Only so many of us are fortunate enough to be rich kids growing up in SoCal. But that didn’t stop Beverly Hills, 90210 from getting people to tune in weekly to see what new dilemma faced the students of West Beverly Hills High.
On first glance, Beverly Hills, 90210 may have looked like it was merely a show about a bunch of kids and their parents terribly mishandling first-world problems (because that’s exactly what it was), but under that shallow veil was a high school drama that touched on serious issues. Viewers got to watch the cast take on everything from suicide to drug use and AIDS. Also, there was that one time that car bomb went off and Dylan’s dad faked his own death to go into the Witness Protection Program. I think we can all relate to that, can’t we?
With 10 seasons made up of 292 episodes, Beverly Hills, 90210 was a pit stop for many familiar faces that would go on to obtain fame of their own. 25 years to the day of the series premiere in 1990, let’s take a look back at some of them and see how far they’ve come – here’s looking at you, corny dating game show host, Ryan Seacrest.
Ryan Seacrest
Let’s take a moment to stare in awe at the sight of Ryan Seacrest’s frosted tips. It’s hard to admit that that was actually a legit hairstyle style back in 2000. It’s safe to say that Seacrest has grown in the 15 years between his appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 and now. Back then, he played a nameless host of a dating show on mid-afternoon television. Now? He’s pretty much the king of TV hosts with his post-American Idol success.
Christina Aguilera
“What A Girl Wants,” “Come On Over,” and “Genie in a Bottle.” All three of those songs were on Christina Aguilera’s self-titled debut album in 1999. Which means it came just in time to squeeze in an appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 before it ended the next year. Safe to say Christina and Beverly Hills had a shared audience in the suburban teenage demographic, so this appearance was a no-brainer. Plus, she had all that Mickey Mouse Club acting talent just wasting away.
Jessica Alba
When Beverly Hills, 90210 decided they wanted to switch things up and have a serious episode, they really committed. In an episode from the eighth season, Jessica Alba appeared as a teenage mother who left her baby in a dumpster then had a problem when it was adopted by a gay couple. That’s teenage pregnancy, child abandonment, gay rights, and adoption all in a tight 45 minutes. How did this episode not win an Emmy?
David Arquette
David Arquette earned a solid rep as a bad boy in the infancy of his career. He played a vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and appeared in Beverly Hills, 90210 as an abusive ex-boyfriend. Later on, he got a steady role in the Scream series and even won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Seriously, that really happened. Roman Reigns could take a couple spear lessons from this guy. At least his led to a title.
Dean Cain
If you were born in a small window of time, Dean Cain was your first Superman. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman came after Reeves, but before Smallville and, dare I even mention, Routh. But before that, he was just Rick on Beverly Hills, 90210, a charming young lad putting the 80/20 theory to the test as he lured Brenda’s attention away from Daryl.
Vivica Foxx
Thank the Huxtables. In 1991, Beverly Hills, 90210 introduced a wealthy black family to show that Beverly Hills wasn’t completely made up of white people when Sherice Ashe (Vivica A. Fox) and her family moved in across the street from the Walsh’s. She and Brandon would meet when they ran into each other and later considered dating. But then things went from 0 to 100 –real quick *Drake voice* – when Sherice’s ex-boyfriend came to visit and was wrongfully profiled and arrested. Then, one day, the Ashe family was never heard from again…
Seth Green
A lot of Seth Green’s best work is when he’s playing a geek with a charming side. In The Italian Job he was a tech wiz, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer he was a misunderstood werewolf that won the heart of a witch, and in Beverly Hills, 90210 he was just a nerdy kid that got lucky enough to go on a double date with Shannon Doherty.
Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry’s stint on Beverly Hills, 90210 was heavy. I don’t blame you if you decide to go watch Friends after this just to restore your image of the cynical, but understandable, Chandler Bing. In Beverly Hills, 90210, Perry played a rich kid named Roger that hated his dad and eventually had to get committed because he snapped and pointed a gun at his own head. Could he be any more dramatic?
