PASADENA, Calif. -- "Melrose Place" is back and producer Todd Slavkin promised it will still be "the most scandalous address in West Hollywood. That hasn't changed."
And some of the cast has remained, too. Laura Leighton returns as Sydney Andrews, presumed dead in a car crash on the previous series, and Thomas Calabro, as evil Dr. Michael Mancini. No plans yet for Heather Locklear to reprise her role -- "but the door is always open," Slavkin said -- but Josie Bisset and Daphne Zuniga will make guest appearances.
The veterans will be joined by a new cast of young apartment-dwellers played by Michael Rady ("Greek"), Katie Cassidy ("Harper's Island"), Shaun Sipos ("Complete Savages") and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz ("7th Heaven"), wife of Fall Out Boy star Pete Wentz.
This "Melrose" (9 p.m. Sept. 8) reboot follows last year's "90210" sequel
"'Melrose Place' is a huge international franchise," Slavkin said, "so creating our own show based on that concept is absolutely a huge advantage to have in the marketplace."
A diva dies in the pilot and a murder mystery plays out for several episodes, but not the entire first season.
"We're huge fans of noir and 'Sunset Boulevard' is one of our favorite films," Slavkin said. "So we thought it would be an interesting idea to tell her story and how it affects our current characters. Whether or not the initial murder is solved, there will be mystery and suspense."
For her part, Leighton was game to re-visit the famous apartment complex.
"[The producers] had an approach to the show that includes my character in a very unique way," she said. "I only knew playing Syd the first time was such fun and there was no downside to playing her again."
Posted
Aug 04 2009, 01:56 PM
by
Rob Owen