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90210 Cast Reveals Why Premiere Is "Top Secret"

With the 90210 premiere a week away, why is it that no one has seen it?

By Kristin Dos Santos Aug 25, 2008 8:13 PMTags
Shannen DohertyJason LaVeris/Getty Images

You've gotta love this. The Parents Television Council is putting the kibosh on the CW's 90210even though its members haven't seen it yet.

"If Gossip Girl is any indication of what 90210 will look like, advertisers have plenty of reason to steer clear of the show," PTC President Tim Winter said in a just-released statement. "No reputable advertiser should even consider sponsoring the show without viewing the content in advance."

Hear that? It's the sound of the CW promo guy rubbing his hands together in delight. Hate to break it to you, PTC, but this is just the kind of publicity the 9-0 folks were hoping for. It worked out magically for their Gossip Girl billboards, after all.

Of course, the big question is, why is the CW not showing anyone the premiere episode before it airs? As I found out at the show's launch party on Saturday, the answer is a lot more practical than you'd think...

Turns out, not even the cast has seen the first episode, which airs in only one week, because they're still shooting it.

While the CW has said it is "riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night" and 9-0 newbie Adam Gregory (who is hot enough to burn the sun, FYI) told me it's "like Lost" and the script is "so juicy, and there are so many twists and turns, we don't want anybody to know what's happening beforehand," other cast members told me Saturday night that they've been working until the wee hours this past week (Shannen Doherty mentioned she got home at 8:30 Saturday morning; AnnaLynne McCord wrapped at 6 a.m.) doing reshoots on the pilot episode.

"[The premiere] is not actually completed yet—they're still working on it," Lori Loughlin told me at the show's ultraswanky bash on the beach Malibu. "They wanted to add a little bit. They felt like they needed a little extra scene in there, and they're just doing all the fine tuning, trying to make it perfect. It's good, it's all good, it's all positive."

The quest for perfection is only natural given the high-profile nature of the series, and according to the show's goddess of a grandmother (who knows a thing or two about good TV), Jessica Walter, we have no reason to worry about the final product. "Yes, it's all top secret. But the producers certainly know what they're doing, I can tell you that."