Binside TV: 90210

Tori Spelling dropped out of the show due to low pay. But now there is another sign that the new 90210 spin-off series may stink after screeners have been banned for critics.

The drama has already begun with "90210," which is giving TV critics the brushoff.

Pre-broadcast copies of the new CW series won't be distributed to TV reviewers and reporters, the network said Monday.

Movie critics tend to get suspicious when a new release skips review screenings, but CW said the move merely represents a "strategic marketing decision" by it and studio partner CBS Paramount Network Television.

"We're not hiding anything" by declining to make the Sept. 2 debut episode of the "Beverly Hills 90210" spinoff available beforehand, according to a network statement.

Instead, CW said, it's "simply keeping a lid on `90210' ... riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night, and letting all our constituents see it at the same time."

Distribution of most new fall show pilots has lagged because of the 100-day Hollywood writers' strike that ended in February and disrupted TV's usual production schedule for the 2008-09 season as well as the previous one.

But it's unusual for TV networks to withhold pilots for other reasons. source

There is good news for 90210 fans. Actress Tori Spelling has reportedly dropped out of the spin-off. Tori Spelling is the daughter of deceased 90210 creator Aaron Spelling. Diehard 90210 fans were hoping for the return of Shannen Doherty to reprise her role as "Brenda" on the show. The CW had to do something about the Tori Spelling casting because no one was going to tune in to see Spelling and the network may not survive after suffering from a ratings slump. Some fans of the show weren't feeling Tori Spelling's return.

But one of my reliable TV business sources is hearing that Tori Spelling is going to be in the Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff just picked up by the CW. Well, it's official: 90210 is ruined. Please, Les and Barry, reconsider! (Or did Aaron Spelling demand this in his will?) source

We love Tori on her Tori & Dean reality series but Tori's virginal Donna Martin 90210 character was pretty boring. Shannen Doherty is still confirmed to return to the 90210 spin-off series. Yeah!

The New Beverly Hills 90210'' Trailer

The question is whether this is a really smart or really stupid decision by The CW's boss Dawn Ostroff. I'm told a contract controversy is preventing Tori Spelling from joining that so-called "edgy, contemporary spin-off" of the '90s hit 90210 on the network this fall as planned. Insiders tell me that Tori was hired to reprise her role as fashion boutique owner Donna Martin for just "$10,000-$20,000" per episode. But then Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty were signed for "$35,000-$50,000" a show. When Tori found out her former co-stars were getting paid way more than she was, she got pissed and demanded equal pay. But the network suits have refused. So now my sources tell me that Tori has pulled out of the series, which premieres with a 2-hour special on September 2nd. "She thought she deserved parity, and she's got a point," an insider explained to me.

The new Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off is the strongest programming on the CW this fall with Gossip Girl and America's Next Top Model.

I wrote that the talk of Hollywood was when, not if, The CW's Dawn Ostroff would be fired. After all, she got her job by the skin of her teeth after programming as badly as she could at the old UPN and brown-nosing Les Moonves who was making a power-play move on Warner Bros' Barry Meyer.
Well, I recently learned that Ostroff managed to buy herself more time on the back of 90210. Insiders tell me that her future, and the entire future of the fledgling network, rests on the teen show's fall ratings. As a source explained, "Since Gossip Girl opened with a 3.1 for women 18-to-34 and still can't get ratings, then 90210 has got to open with a '4' in front of it for women 18-to-34 if The CW and Dawn are going to survive into 2009." source

Actress TORI SPELLING has pulled out of the forthcoming BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 spin-off amid rumours of a salary row.

The star has reportedly walked away from the revamped TV show after discovering she is to be paid $10,000 to $20,000 (GBP5,000 to GBP10,000) per episode - less than half the figure former co-stars Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty are picking up to reprise their roles.

Spelling's representative has confirmed the actress' decision, telling Usmagazine.com, "At this time, there are no plans for Tori to appear in the 90210 spin-off."

The move comes just two months after bosses at U.S. TV network CW announced Spelling would return as Donna Martin - now the owner of one of the coolest stores in Beverly Hills.

The actress took the part, stating, "I am excited about it. In some way, every show that followed 90210 was a remake of 90210. For the fans' sake, I am really happy for them." source