Beverly Hills, 90210

Is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star, and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ten seasons on Fox—originally airing from October 4, 1990, to May 17, 2000. It is the longest-running show produced by Spelling, airing slightly longer than Dynasty. It is the first of five television series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. The show follows the lives of a group of friends living in the upscale and star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California as they transition from high school to college and into the adult world. The "90210" in the title refers to one of the city's five ZIP codes.

The initial premise of the show was based on the adjustment and culture shock that twins Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) experienced when they and their parents, Jim (James Eckhouse) and Cindy (Carol Potter) moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Beverly Hills. In addition to chronicling the friendships and romantic relationships of the characters, the show also addressed numerous of topical issues such as sex, date rape, homophobia, animal rights, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, eating disorders, antisemitism, racism, teenage suicide, teenage pregnancy, and AIDS.

After a poor start in the ratings during its first season, the series gained popularity during the summer of 1991, when Fox aired a special "summer season" of the show while most other series were in reruns. Viewership increased dramatically and 90210 became one of Fox's top shows when it returned that fall. The show became a global pop culture phenomenon with its cast members, particularly Jason Priestley and Luke Perry, becoming teen idols, while the series would make actresses Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling household names in the US. The show is also credited with creating or popularizing the teen soap genre that many other successful television shows would follow in the years to come. The show had many cast changes, with Garth, Spelling, Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green being the only actors to appear during its entire run.

The series begins with the introduction of the Walsh family—Jim, Cindy, Brandon, and Brenda—who had recently moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Beverly Hills, California as a result of Jim's job promotion. In the first episode, Brandon and Brenda begin attending West Beverly Hills High School, where they befriend several classmates: the self centered and promiscuous Kelly Taylor, carefree and spoiled Steve Sanders, smart and driven Andrea Zuckerman, ditzy and virtuous Donna Martin, brooding loner Dylan McKay, and the younger and naive students David Silver and Scott Scanlon. The show follows the siblings as they bear witness and take part in the dramatic lives that their wealthy and privileged peers lead.

Series finale

Ratings for the tenth season declined to an average of 10 million viewers per episode (according to a May 2000 issue of Us Weekly). The ratings were small compared to previous seasons. The lower ratings, along with the high costs associated with any television show in its later seasons led Fox to end the series in January 2000. Though there were many cast changes, over 25 million people tuned in to watch the final episode which aired in May 2000. All of the original younger cast, excluding Shannen Doherty and Douglas Emerson, appeared in the series finale. Tiffani Thiessen also returned in the series finale.