Beverly Hills, 90210 first aired in 1990—yes, 34 years ago—which seems like a crazy long time until you realize the show might as well have been set in Victorian times compared to how teenagers live today. Landlines, renting movies on VHS, no cell phones, no texting, no social media, no Googling, no taking pictures all day long, no selfies, no TikTok, no influencers, and no streaming. You watched a TV show when it aired and if you missed it, too bad. You used a camera, and took photos on special occasions only. WILD.
Anyway, while deep in the mire of newborn bliss/exhaustion last year, I needed a comfort-viewing distraction to get through the long days and nights. Something fun, something addictive, something that made me feel like I was actually out in the California sunshine right outside my window. Nothing too sad, real, or stressful—in other words, I wanted to watch 20-something actors playing teenagers in one of the richest zip codes in the world. Here’s what I learned after watching 293 episodes and 11 specials.
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1. The Cast Wasn’t THAT Old
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Ok, hear me out. I know as you get older, actors on screen look younger. But there have been so many jokes over the years about this cast being too old to be playing teenagers. Gabrielle Carteris was 29 in season one (granted, they made her look 50). Tori Spelling was 17, Shannen Doherty was 19, Luke Perry was 23, Ian Ziering was 26, and Jason Priestley was 21. Also, back then people looked older than they were, compared to 20-somethings these days.
2. Brandon Was Insufferable
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Not always! But Brandon was always portrayed as the “good guy”, the hero, the activist, the good twin. Watching some of the storylines as an adult, I couldn’t believe how many times he almost got his father fired or in trouble at work just to make a point about whatever cause he was championing. Your dad needs to pay the mortgage, Bran. Maybe don’t mouth off at his colleagues?
3. Andrea Should Have Gone To Yale
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Andrea giving up Yale made no sense. None. Zilch. She wanted it her whole life, actually got into the school, and then… plot twist! She’d rather stay in Los Angeles. Which makes sense if they wanted to keep Carteris as part of the gang, but her whole teenage mom storyline made no sense. AHN-drea deserved better.
4. Race Relations
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It’s silly to watch a show from almost 40 years ago and judge it through a modern eye, but solving racism through the electric slide was one of the most bonkers things I’ve ever seen. Aside from that, 90210 actually did a pretty good job of touching on racial issues. We want to sympathize with the main characters, so when they show prejudice or racism, it encourages us to look at our own prejudices. For example, Brandon and the high school football team, or the storyline where Donna almost got those kids taken away from their mother because she had to work.
5. Domestic Violence
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Speaking of Donna, her domestic violence storyline with Ray Pruit was sadly only too realistic, especially because she stays with him for a long time despite his behavior. The show did a good job of touching on some of these serious themes without getting entirely too depressing (in the early seasons anyway, some of the stalker storylines later on were silly).
6. Money Troubles
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Money does not buy you happiness. Even though the Walshes live in Beverly Hills, they have significantly less money than their neighbors, which causes envy and insecurity, (especially for Brenda, it seems). Kelly’s mother is an alcoholic. David’s father is a womanizer. Donna’s mother is insane. No one’s life is perfect.
7. Steve Was a Delight
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Steve was the only one who acted like an actual teenager. His good moments, bad moments, silly moments all felt genuine for a 17-year-old in high school. He wasn’t afraid to cry, and he had a good heart. Justice for Steve!
8. Jim and Cindy’s Parenting
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Brandon gets drunk, crashes his car, and ends up in jail. He gets a hug (but they yell at Brenda!). Brenda lies to her parents all summer and… they send her to Paris. Brenda is almost an adult, but they ban her from seeing her boyfriend, who is also practically one of the family at this point. They blame Dylan for Brenda’s behavior. They tell their kids only one can go to college out of state, setting up some sort of Hunger Games craziness between the twins. Jim turns a blind eye to Brandon’s many girlfriends, but flips out about Brenda doing the same. Not cool Jim. Not cool then, and not cool now.
9. Donna Martin Graduates!
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Why did Donna not stay in the hotel until she was over the worst of her drunkenness? Why did her friends walk her through the lobby where she was sure to be seen by someone? Luckily no one had any common sense that night because it led to one of the most iconic episodes—and chants—ever. Donna Martin Graduates! It’s even funnier on the rewatch.
10. We Had It So Good
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The ’90s were a golden age of television, especially shows for teens. Beverly Hills, 90210 tackled many worthy issues, sometimes heavy-handedly, but always with good intentions. With so much heaviness in the world, it’s nice to escape to a time where if you left the house, no one could reach you. Your parents had no idea where you were! You could even go to Mexico and only get caught when you lose your passport and be stopped at the border coming home (nice work, Brenda). The Peach Pit, the beach house, the Walsh residence, the 90s fashions and slang, the Beverly Blaze, David’s Vanilla Ice act, Brenda’s French accent, the new characters, the ones we will never see again, all are immortal for a reason. RIP Brenda, Dylan, Stuart, and Nate. We will never forget you.
