Skip to footer

Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling of 'Beverly Hills, 90210' reunite for ABC Family show 'Mystery Girls'

Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling star on 'Mystery' as former co-stars of a detective TV show who decide to open a detective agency. 'It's more fun than doing a drama,' Jennie Garth said of starring on a sitcom.

|
Amy Sussman/Invision/AP
Jennie Garth (r.) and Tori Spelling (l.) star on 'Mystery Girls.'
  • By Alicia Rancilio Associated Press

Tori Spelling can crack Jennie Garth up.

When thinking of an upcoming scene from their new ABC Family sitcom, "Mystery Girls," Garth giggles at the memory of Spelling going for it, making a funny face and using a strange voice.

That's just one reason the two like to work together.

"I feel safe doing some, like, goofy, crazy face and voice because it's my friend. I know she's gonna be there to support my efforts," explained Spelling in a recent interview.

"She knows I love it," added Garth, who readily admits she's the first to break character in a scene.

Unless you skipped the 1990s, you know they were co-stars on one of the most popular TV shows of that era, "Beverly Hills, 90210," about teens living in the exclusive Southern California zip code.

It went off the air after 10 seasons in 2000 but Spelling and Garth have remained friends. They even briefly reprised their roles for the CW's "90210" reboot. Spelling guest-starred on a couple of episodes. Garth appeared on the first two seasons.

They never expected to work together full-time again, but Spelling came up for the premise and it all fell into place.

On "Mystery Girls," Garth and Spelling play former co-stars of a hit '90s detective TV show of the same name. They've gone their separate ways until a crime occurs and the witness will only talk to them. From this, they end up opening a detective agency.

Both actresses also serve as executive producers. They have their hand in the show's look, wardrobe and "every little thing," said Spelling.

"Our personalities are [to be] micro-managers. We can't delegate that much, but we're learning," she said.

The two say they rarely disagree on decisions but Garth will defer to Spelling sometimes "because it was her idea."

They chose to do a sitcom because "it's more fun than doing a drama," said Garth. "The schedule, the hours. We both have a lot of kids so it's like banker's hours compared to doing an episodic show like an hour-long drama or something."

For Spelling, having a sitcom was a career goal.

"I did the best I could on '90210.' Like I tried to make Donna funny. I was in a drama. Everyone else was great at drama but I was like, 'I think I'm better at comedy, so how can I interject comedy here and there?' and so Donna was kind of goofy and I did things here and there but I was always, this is harder for me. I wish I could do comedy."

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling of 'Beverly Hills, 90210' reunite for ABC Family show 'Mystery Girls'
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2014/0708/Jennie-Garth-and-Tori-Spelling-of-Beverly-Hills-90210-reunite-for-ABC-Family-show-Mystery-Girls
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe