Jason Priestley reveals two 'BH90210' Easter eggs
"Beverly Hills, 90210" fans have been counting down the days until the premiere of "BH90210," and according to star Jason Priestley, they're right to be excited.
Priestley, who played Brandon Walsh on the teen drama, told "Good Morning America" said that this new series is "very different from the original show," though "fans of the original show will find it incredibly satisfying."
The actor, who is also set to appear in Lifetime's V.C. Andrews movie series next month, explained that the show is "multi-layered."
"Everybody's rebooting a show, and the cast of 'Beverly Hills 90210,' Jason Priestley and Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling, all end up at a fan convention together and we all ... come up with this idea because the reaction to all of us being together at this fan convention - as crazy as it is - we all decide maybe we should try to get a reboot of our show made," he said. "It's very - a show within a show within a show within a show. It's very meta!"
"BH90210" is set to premiere on Aug. 7 on Fox, and stars Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling, all from the original series. Priestley also told "GMA" that Carol Potter, who played his mother, Sydney Walsh, will return, and as a wink to hardcore fans, Christine Elise, who played Emily Valentine, and Jamie Walters, who portrayed Ray Pruit, will make appearances, too.
However, one of the show's stars, Luke Perry, who played heartthrob Dylan McKay, died in March and is not in the show.
Priestley told "GMA" that it was a "very, very difficult time" for the cast, who not only were grieving the loss of their friend, but also struggling to move forward with the series, creatively.
"Luke was a big personality and a big part of that show, and the difficulty for us was to honor him in a way that didn't feel exploitative," Priestley said. "Hopefully we were successful in that."
"BH90210" premieres August 7 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Before that, Priestley will appear in the second film of Lifetime's V.C. Andrews' Casteel series, "Dark Angel," which airs Aug. 3. The series kicks off with "Heaven" on July 27.
The movies "follow a family... and sort of the ways they are interwoven, let's say," Priestley said of the movies, which he also directs. "They're good clean dirty fun!"
