This new iteration should make a few changes to its original recipe.
The Big Picture
- The original
Melrose Place
was known for outrageous plotlines and drama with intense surprises. - The reboot should focus on updating the storylines, featuring LGBTQ+ relationships, and maintaining a modern vibe.
- Including both veteran actors and fresh faces can increase the reboot’s success to surpass the original.
When the original Melrose Place aired from 1992 to 1999, there was no better show to feature supreme soapiness. With Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett) and Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga) helming the crew, the series quickly became a first-class drama with outrageous storylines and steamy romances. The show flew to even higher heights after bringing on the legendary Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward in Season 2, and during its seven seasons on Fox, Melrose Place was the go-to show for viewers interested in catching all the catfights and hookups—the series even inspired a short-lived CW remake in 2009. But now, the crew from the hottest apartment complex in Los Angeles is officially back, as it was recently revealed that a reboot of the show is in the works for CBS.
So far, they’ve announced that the current version will bring back several fan-favorite cast members, including Locklear, Zuniga and Laura Leighton. But the question still remains: will the reboot be able to outshine the original? Thekey for the new team will be to lean into the drama and those infamous moments of backstabbing and betrayal, all the while steering clear of the trend of making things too bizarre. There are tons of elements that the original series nailed, including intriguing love triangles, shocking deaths, and jaw-dropping twists; using these pieces, the new Melrose Place can build off the original’s success and even surpass its zeitgeist-y brilliance.
Melrose Place
Young professionals living in a trendy apartment complex in Los Angeles find their lives and loves intertwining in unexpected ways. As they deal with the pressures of burgeoning careers and complex relationships, secrets and betrayals surface, challenging their loyalties and testing their moral boundaries.
‘Melrose Place’ Had Some Outlandish Storylines Throughout Its Run
Every series brought to television by the prolific Aaron Spelling (Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed) included some element of over-the-top drama. Many storylines verged on being downright cheesy ,but audiences knew what to expect when they were tuning into a Spelling show, like Melrose Place: pretty people who get caught in unrealistic fights with their neighbors and have tangled love affairs (also with their neighbors). Yes, there were evil twins and people who faked their deaths, but despite the schlock value, these shows were also just plain, solid entertainment. Melrose Place fit into Spelling’s oeuvre perfectly. He acted as executive producer and handed the reins to Darren Star (who would go on to create the iconic series, Sex and the City), and with a talented cast of fresh faces, Melrose Place quickly gained legions of fans.
While there were always characters to root for (like Courtney Thorne Smith‘s naive Allison Parker or Doug Savant‘s sweet Matt Fielding), the show had some truly awesome villains, and these unhinged characters led to some of the series’ most insane moments. No character led to more deranged antics than Dr. Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross). At one point, she told everyone that Jo’s baby was dead, proceeded to then kidnap the child, and, in one completely bonkers scene, tried to breastfeed it. Kimberly was also responsible for one of the most insane twists in the series: she was presumed dead in a fatal car crash, but turned up later only to remove her wig to show a huge, jagged scar on her skull. Oh, and who can forget that time she blew up the entire apartment complex?
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It’s going to be a full house at the Formans’, again!
At some point, these wild plot twists turned way more into camp than into legitimate dramatic storylines; viewers couldn’t be sure whether they were being led into another ridiculous drawn-out plot (such as when Allison went blind but then was cured, only to fake being blind for several more episodes) or if they were going to get attached to characters that would meet an untimely death. There were only so many apartment ghosts (Billy’s dead wife, Brooke) that could pop up in the swimming pool and exes being buried alive (Jane’s ex, Richard) before audiences started rolling their eyes.
The ‘Melrose Place’ Reboot Can Finally Hit the Refresh Button
The best part about a reboot is that it can take what was special about the original series and hit refresh on the entire concept. The reboot can discard the shamefully silly storylines and focus more on drama that entices viewers to tune in week after week, and the clearest way to do that is by focusing on storylines that feel current and fresh. For example, in the original, Matt was gay but never shared any on-screen love scenes because of the stigma related to same-sex relationships in the 1990s. Today, Melrose Place could feature LGBTQ+ relationships and have a much more diverse cast overall. The new storylines could concentrate more on the relationships between characters, while still allowing for some of that fun drama (no need to cut out those knockout fights where people get pushed into the pool). Intense theatrics (even with a soap opera flavor) can still exist without treading into pre-Y2K camp territory, and this can be accomplished by updating the cast and the storylines. While it’s exciting that several veteran actors are coming back to Melrose Place, casting additional actors will only enhance those iconic favorites while also bringing some new energy into the mix.
The reboot does seem off to a solid start with Dexter and Insatiable writer, Lauren Gussis, already attached to the project. If Gussis and the other writers can focus on highlighting the talents of the veteran cast and coming up with storylines that don’t seem to come from a soap opera, the reboot could actually outpace the original. Any subtle nods they can give fans to the original series (maybe even a shocking wig reveal) will certainly help cement its success, as well as more of a focus on plots that are still surprising (but a lot less corny). Not all reboots are destined for cancelation, as long as they learn from their predecessor’s mistakes; Melrose Place deserves the same fun twists and turns the original had but with a much more modern vibe.
Melrose Place is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com