It's for sure: Shannen Doherty returns to '90210'

By Barry Garron

TCA -- Will she or won't she, was the question on the lips of the multitude. The answer: she will. Like the proverbial criminal who always returns to the scene of the crime, Shannen Doherty will be back on the new "Beverly Hills 90210," the show that launched her career.

A CW press release trumpeted her return for "multiple episodes," reprising the character she originally played, Brenda Walsh. (You may recall that a younger and more difficult Doherty parted company with the show with the explanation that Brenda went to London to study acting.)

In the "90210," which the producers insist on calling a spinoff and not a remake, Walsh returns to her old high school to be a guest director of the school's musical production.

Indeed, the new "90210," which premieres Sept. 2, will be teeming with alumni. Tori Spelling will return as the owner of an upscale boutique, though no one knows quite when. "She was exhausted from having a new baby," said Gabe Sachs, exec producer alongside Jeff Judah. "When she's up for it, she'll be in."

Other characters, Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and Nat (Joe E. Tata), will return as a guidance counselor and the owner of The Peach Pit, respectively. And, oh yeah, The Peach Pit is now "a cool coffee house with a music extension."

The original series kicked off in 1990 with the Walshes getting more than they bargained for when the family moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills. The spinoff starts with the Wilsons moving to Beverly Hills from Kansas. Dad (Rob Estes) is the new high school principal. Mom is played by "Full House" star Lori Loughlin. Shenae Grimes and Tristan Wilds play Annie and Dixon, the new Brenda and Brandon.

But just as there are similarities, the exec producers vow there will be differences. "We're really having a strong adult story line," Sachs said. The Wilson parents will be trying to figure out "how they hold on to their moral center." (Being from Kansas, they must have a moral center.)

In addition, this fall's students with be texting and IM'ing all over the place. If only there was a West Coast gossip girl to put it all in perspective....