‘Melrose Place’ Stars on Story Lines That Didn’t Age Well — And Modernizing the Reboot
Revisiting Melrose Place has Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton and Daphne Zuniga taking notes for the recently announced reboot.
“We would love another excuse to just spend time together and work together and we know that a reboot is in the works and we hope to have more news to share with you soon,” Leighton, who played Sydney Andrews on the Fox drama, teased in the new issue of Us Weekly.
When Us joked about Sydney already coming back to life for the short-lived CW reboot of Melrose Place in 2009, Zuniga, who played Jo Reynolds, quipped, “We've been told, like, four or five of us died.”
“We''d have to do it in a modern, today lens,” Zuniga continued. “Because a lot of that stuff back there wouldn't fly. So there has to be, I think, a sense of humor, like, a tongue in cheek about certain things and not take it so seriously. One-upping the drama, but with a sense of humor and, maybe, a new generation, a younger generation. I mean, some of us did have a child!”
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Fans will likely recall the wild story line of Jo giving birth to a son in season 3, only to have Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross) try to kidnap him after pretending to help Jo. The episodes aired in 1994, meaning the baby boy would be the perfect age to move into the apartment complex.
But back to those story lines that “wouldn't fly” in 2024. In the pilot, which the actresses have rewatched for their new podcast, “Still the Place,” Beverly Hills, 90210’s Jennie Garth guest stars as Kelly Taylor, who is still hung up on Jake Hanson (Grant Show). The episodes crossed over with the 90210 gang’s senior year — meaning Kelly was still in high school when she was pursuing Jake.
“I was watching it thinking, well surely they're gonna almost kiss then not quite. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, they're kissing, they're kissing!’” Thorne-Smith told Us. “It just didn't age well. Grant is such a straightforward, ethical guy that he would never do that today. But at the time it was romantic. We forget how badly those things age.”
Zuniga agreed. “To that point, I remember, you know, having crushes on like older guys, but never acting it out really. But, well I did marry an older man — maybe I did act a little bit,” she said with a laugh. “But at any rate, being that young, the Jennie Garth character, now I'm just going, 'Ugh.'”
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Leighton added, “Yeah. It's painful. … And we remember the ‘90s and that it just did feel different. [It’s] weird 32 years later.”
News broke in April that a Melrose Place reboot was being shopped around to networks and streamers with Heather Locklear also looking to return.
“I remember [after season 1] that we were gonna get canceled and then Heather came off and she was the bad guy. We had eight nice kids trying to make it. We needed an antagonist and then Heather comes in,” Throne-Smith recalled of the iconic Amanda Woodward character. “And “She is, first of all, funny and smart and adorable and a pro and she was such a joy to have on set.But she played this character that was so dark and that was the spark we needed. So without her, we wouldn't have had the other seasons. Absolutely not.”
Zuniga recalled being worried about how Locklear’s addition might shake things up on set.
“I remember going 'Uh, oh, what's this gonna be like?' Because of the character she's playing, but also because of her persona. Just, like, a projection I had of her. And she was completely the opposite,” she said. “I mean, she is so funny and so self-deprecating. And I was like, 'There's no there there with my like, you know, angst about her.’”
Leighton concluded, “She's tiny, she's cute, she's funny and she plays this larger than life bitch!”
Read more in this week's relaunch issue of the brand-new Us Weekly, featuring 12 additional pages, a redesigned look and new franchises you'll love — on newsstands now.
