If you were a teenager in the ’90s, there was only one zip code that you wanted to visit every week on your TV screen: 90210. Beverly Hills, 90210 — which aired its final episode 25 years ago today — was one of the still-new Fox Network’s earliest success stories, a teen show with a twist: it followed a group of friends as they navigated high school, college, relationships, and the challenges of growing up, all while they were immersed in the glamourous, high-end world of their wealthy Southern Californian families. Blending soap-opera-style drama and topical storylines, the series addressed issues such as teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, racism, and mental health—subjects rarely explored on teen TV at the time.
The show initially focused on Brandon (played by Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (the late Shannen Doherty), a pair of teenage twins who relocate with their parents from Minnesota to Beverly Hills and try to fit into a very different social world. Over time, the ensemble cast expanded to include iconic characters like Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Dylan McKay (the late Luke Perry), Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), David Silver (Brian Austin Green), and others.