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More ‘90210’ drama: Jennie Garth says reboot cast had no chemistry

Tory Spelling, left, and Jennie Garth of "Beverly Hills, 90210" team for the ABC Family comedy "Mystery Girls."
(Amy Sussman / Invision / Associated Press)
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“Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Jennie Garth doesn’t seem to have enjoyed her return to the iconic ZIP Code during her work on the CW reboot of the high school drama.

Garth, who starred in both series as Kelly Taylor, appeared on Sirius XM’s “Just Jenny” show with former costar Tori Spelling to promote their upcoming ABC Family comedy series “Mystery Girls,” in which they play former TV detectives reunited by a real-life mystery.

When host Jenny Hutt got nostalgic about the magnetic quality of the Fox series that debuted in 1990 and catapulted them to fame in the course of its decade-long run — and how their chemistry plays out in “Mystery Girls” — she pretty much opened up the mike for Garth to say unkind things about “90210” revisited.

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“That’s an example of a cast that really didn’t have that chemistry, you know,” Garth said. “It’s hard to find find actors who have that. It’s like lightning in a bottle, and you either have it or you don’t.”

While names weren’t named, the reboot, which aired on the CW from from 2008 to 2013, starred newcomers Shenae Grimes, AnnaLynne McCord, Tristan Wilds, Jessica Stroup and Jessica Lowndes and saw guest appearances by cast members from the original series.

Early in the broadcast, Spelling said that in a movie version of the Fox show she’d have someone “silly” and “goofy” like Kristen Chenoweth play her character, Donna Martin. Garth struggled to cast Kelly, ultimately landing on Meryl Streep. “She can play younger.”

They also said they’d love for former costar Shannen Doherty guest star on “Mystery Girls.”

“The original threesome, me and Jen and Shannen,” Spelling said.

But when it comes to remembering the realities of “90210” production, Garth revealed, “I don’t miss anything. I mean, that’s terrible to say, but ... I don’t miss those long hours.”

Spelling explained: They’d frequently work 17-hour days and sometimes did “double-ups,” where were shooting two full one-hour shows in a week.

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“We were young, we could endure all that,” said Spelling, now 41.

“They really didn’t take our well-being into consideration at all,” added Garth, who’s 42.

Take note, young’uns.

Dylan or Brandon?! Follow me @NardineSaad.

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