WTH?: No advance screening of '90210'

August 18, 03:23 PM

Impatient for the new 90210 to start? Well, so is the press.

Journalists received the disappointing news on Monday that The CW will not screen the highly anticipated 90210 spinoff in advance of its premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

"The CW and our studio partner CBS Paramount Network Television have made the strategic marketing decision not to screen 90210 for any media in advance of its premiere," reads an email from the studio. "We're not hiding anything ... simply keeping a lid on 90210 until 9.02, riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night, and letting all our constituents see it at the same time."

The statement's assurance about not "hiding anything" refers to the common practice of keeping the media in dark in the event that a movie studio isn't feeling the most confident about the quality of a project. No advance screening means no possibility of a bad review ahead of time.

It remains to be seen if 90210 lives up to the hype or if The CW doth protest too much.

All is not lost, however. Screeners of Privileged, another new CW drama that will premiere a week later on Tuesday, Sept. 9, will be sent out later this week, a studio exec assures us.

90210 stars Shenae Grimes and Tristan Wilds as a sister and adopted brother who enter the baffling world of West Beverly Hills High School. A youthful and good-looking cast populates the teen drama, along with Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth familiar faces from the original Beverly Hills, 90210 days.

For more premieres, check out Zap2it's Guide to TV Premieres and Returns.

What do you think? Will the new 90210 be a dud or a stud? Are you looking forward to more adventures at West Beverly Hills High?

in 90210

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Comments (15)

Comments

I'm not old enough to have watched the original, but it's great that both Shannon and Jennie are back. I've seen them both in WB shows in the past and am looking forward to them giving the new 90210 a jumpstart so it can stand on its own. I think it might be a failure...but I'm hoping it's not so I have a new show to watch, as mine are all aging too quickly!

Brian | Aug 18, 2008 5:00:33 PM | #

This show is going to flop. It's on the fricken CW, they are way too busy getting beat by cable networks to make a hit.

| Aug 19, 2008 2:10:46 PM | #

I got my box of tissues ready. Just like the old days.

Jason S. | Aug 19, 2008 3:29:57 PM | #

FACT: No advanced screening = awful show. They know it stinks, and they don't want the press to be able to tell us it stinks ahead of time. How can anyone be considering watching this?

Brandon Smith | Aug 19, 2008 5:31:07 PM | #

Fact: TV Stations and Networks make money off of ratings. If a bootleg copy of 90210 gets out on the internet, less people will watch it when it premieres.
Hence less money they can make off of it. Its all about the dollar, dollar bill yall!

LL | Aug 20, 2008 6:14:22 AM | #

Consider what happened to 'Jericho' when the first 3 episodes of season 2 were released to media for screening - they ended up leaked and all over the torrents. It didn't benefit the network ratings but hurt them.

Smart move on their part. Can't wait to come back home to 90210, the same time as everyone else.

Patty | Aug 20, 2008 9:37:01 AM | #

This is completely different. The "Jericho" situation had to do with a show coming back from a hiatus/possible cancellation, "90210" is a brand-new show with tons of (ill-placed) hype. I'm surprised anyone actually gives a damn about it, to tell you the truth!

Casey | Aug 20, 2008 10:10:54 AM | #

This is the one teen type show that I would watch simply b/c its got Jessica Stroup and Tristan Wilds on there and Shanae Grimes is hot!

Too bad its on The Can't Watch Network. MyNetworkTV is going to be the new fifth place network with Smackdown!

This is the only good thing that The CW has done since the network came out. With no one knowing what the show will be like that means alot of water cooler talk the next day and bigger ratings. I wish the networks hide half of their shows from reviewers b/c it messes up the anticipation for the pilot when I hear how bad a show is.

Hot Pocket | Aug 20, 2008 10:51:11 AM | #

This is the one teen type show that I would watch simply b/c its got Jessica Stroup and Tristan Wilds on there and Shanae Grimes is hot!

Too bad its on The Can't Watch Network. MyNetworkTV is going to be the new fifth place network with Smackdown!

Hot Pocket | Aug 20, 2008 10:51:47 AM | #

I agree with the last poster, what ruined Bionic Woman last year was advance screenings of the pilot and it totally took my interest off the show. I rather watch it myself and make my own judgments.

ScottyA222 | Aug 20, 2008 11:12:57 AM | #

No screeners is a good thing. The CW has alot at stake with this show and needs the ratings badly.

Don J | Aug 20, 2008 11:42:31 AM | #

Casey: It is the EXACT same situation as Jericho, no matter if the show is new or returning. RATINGS is the name of the game people and when things get leaked then those who watched it through torrents or other online media will not be coming around for the Series/Season Premiere. The producers of Heroes took a big gamble when they showed the entire third season premiere at Comic-Con. They even went as far as to ask those who saw it to not leak it on the net. Like people really would honor those wishes...

Brandon Smith: FACT: Plenty of pre-screened films and TV shows that were given a huge amount of buzz and rave reviews have flopped despite all the hype that was given before they were released. In other words, you can't always rely on critics, or an age old studio myth, that because something wasn't prescreened then it will fail.

Mark O. Estes | Aug 20, 2008 4:19:33 PM | #

Scotty: SPOT. ON!

Mark O. Estes | Aug 20, 2008 4:20:17 PM | #

no previews is OK with me. I agree with above comment, I can just wait to watch and form my own opinion about the show

dao leta | Aug 20, 2008 9:19:27 PM | #

It's on the CW - there's no way it's any good. They couldn't create a good show if their lives depended on it. The only watchable show on the network is Supernatural, but they've effed with that so badly it's almost unrecognizable.

Rachel | Aug 21, 2008 8:03:28 PM | #