'Beverly Hills, 90210' just turned 35. The very-LA show shaped teen TV for generations

Josie Huang is a reporter and Weekend Edition host who spotlights the people and places at the heart of our region.

Published Oct 4, 2025 5:00 AM

Four white young men in T-shirts and four white young women in tank tops cluster closely together.

Today marks 35 years since the premiere of Beverly Hills, 90210 — the show that turned a ZIP code into pop culture shorthand.

The hit teen drama ran for 10 seasons, following twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh, transplants from the Midwest navigating life among Beverly Hills’ privileged.

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'Beverly Hills, 90210' turns 35. How it center the LA zip code into the cultural lexicon

A scene from a television show featuring a young man in a tan shirt has his arm around a brunette woman in a black blazer. Next to them are a blonde woman in a floral off-shoulder top and another blonde woman in a blue long-sleeve shirt with her arms crossed.

It also pushed boundaries for network TV, diving into drug use, mental health and teen sexuality — including Brenda’s first time with brooding boyfriend Dylan McKay.

Alongside the breakout cast, Los Angeles played a starring role on the show with nods to gridlock, clubs on the Sunset Strip and the Valley.

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Though largely shot on a soundstage, the show also leaned heavily on exterior shots to showcase L.A.

Torrance High School stood in for the show’s West Beverly Hills High. Occidental College doubled as the fictional California University — which the 90210 kids attended after they graduated high school — finally. (Creator Darren Starr stretched the high school years across seasons.)

All the while, an Altadena home appeared as the Walsh family’s house. It’s still standing, untouched by the Eaton Fire.

A Spanish revival home sits next to a fire-ravaged house.

Much of the cast remains visible in Hollywood. In addition to acting, Gabrielle Carteris, who played school paper editor Andrea Zuckerman, took on the role of SAG-AFTRA president, leading 160,000 performers for more than five years.

Meanwhile, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling — forever Kelly Taylor and Donna Martin — launched a rewatch podcast called 9021OMG in 2020 that thrills fans with anecdotes from the set.

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Two smiling women pose together. The woman on the left wears a white dress with “DONNA” spray-painted in bright pink across it, while the woman on the right wears a white dress with “KELLY” spray-painted in green.

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But recent years have also brought grief to the fandom.

Shannon Doherty, so memorable as the tempestuous Brenda, died in July 2024 after living with breast cancer for a decade. Luke Perry, who rose to teen idol status as Dylan, died in 2019 after a major stroke.

But for fans craving high-stakes love triangles and cliffhangers, 90210’s DNA lives on in its own 2019 reboot and in spiritual successors like Gossip Girl, The O.C. and Euphoria.

In a tribute move, Riverdale cast Perry as the main character’s steady, blue-collar dad in his last role.