90210 TV mxl tv is one of the latest teen dramas that CW has produced following the internet and teen market success of Gossip Girl. This teenage flick is not an entirely new enterprise since there was already a show using the same concept and formula in the 90’s—Beverly Hills 90210. However, unlike the recent CW show, its predecessor has had massive success among teenage viewers of its era. Whether it is a question of timing and the considerable changes in the taste of today’s teen market, one thing question lingers: Will 90210 be able to stand against its predecessor’s fame?
Having such a reputable show towing behind can indeed affect a series’ standings. Moreover, the backlash of such a situation could be twofold—1. The show’s predecessor’s popularity could act as a scaffold that would propel the 90210 TV show into greater heights; and 2. the show could just remain as a shadow of Beverly Hills 90210’s flight to success. To further expound on this, let us try to compare the former and the recent 90210 shows.
The story of this 90’s hit teen series revolved around the adventures and growing up tales of twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh after they moved in to Beverly Hills from a small town in Minnesota. Even using this time’s standards, the show can still be considered as risqué in content, dealing with delicate teenage issues such as sex, drug abuse, cheating, teenage pregnancy and even a bit of incest in the mix. At the time, it created a huge issue, even opening the Pandora ‘s box about censorship on TV and matters pertaining to teenage issues.
Beverly Hills 90210 never escaped tabloids and gossip pages, as well. There were also rumors about the fuming feud between cast members Shannen Doherty and Jeanie Garth. If the new millennium saw Hollywood young actresses with wild and destructive streaks such as Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton, the 90’s had its own version in the person of Shannen Doherty, one of 90210’s biggest leads.
The drama that happened offset became a springboard for show’s ratings to soar even higher. Beverly Hills 90210 peaked at 20 million viewers and during its last season on air, it fared an average of 10 million viewers. Ratings: At its peak, the show averaged about 20 million viewers. It was cancelled in its 10th season, in which it averaged about 10 million viewers.
Just like its predecessor, 90210 centers on the life and adventures of siblings Annie and Dixon who moved from Kansas to Beverly Hills. The characters are still faced with many high school trials and dilemmas. The same formula is still used—drugs, teenage drinking, love entanglements, and cheating parents. The show also had some of the old casts, Jeanie Garth and Shannen Doherty guest in the show. Jeanie Garth, on the other hand, played a mainstay character in the show.
The show’s premier boasted of 4.7 million viewers, thanks to heavy promotion and advertisement for the series. It’s dubbed as the highest premier viewer rating for any CW drama. However, the show’s magic soon faded as ratings dropped to only 3 million viewers per episode.
Based on recent TV ratings and reviews, the recent teenage spin off seems to be tipping way below the popularity and success of Aaron Spelling’s multimillion dollar teen franchise of the 90’s. Although, 90210 TV show’s producers and scriptwriters have been firm in their stand that they intend to veer away from anything that would make the recent show a spin off of its predecessor, the effort still seemed futile. Moreover, the teen drama failed to offer something that BH 90210 has already offered its viewers in its reign. Some TV critics are even saying that that the former is arguably better than the recent 90210 TV show based on viewer’s response, storyline, character development, and the show’s ability to influence pop culture.