Teen Drama Links for April 2, 2024

What’s in a TV season? These days, not much.

The long-awaited return of “True Detective” earlier this year had a whopping six episodes. The inaugural season, 10 years ago, only had eight.

But back in the 1990s, “Beverly Hills, 90210” had multiple seasons of 32 episodes each. For many years, across television, the standard was 22.

Now I don’t know what’s more mind-boggling: that “Beverly Hills, 90210” was regularly doing more than 30 episodes a season or that shows like “True Detective” are doing as little as six — and sometimes even fewer than that.

I don’t know which is better, either. With 32 episodes to fill, the producers of “Beverly Hills, 90210” have acknowledged that not every storyline was that great — they just had to do something. Then there’s “The O.C.,” which had an acclaimed 27-episode first season that burned through so much plot, the series arguably never recovered.

In recent years, according to Puck and Parrot Analytics, “The average episode count for a scripted series in the US declined from 15.4 episodes to 10.2 across network titles, and from 11.1 to 9.6 episodes across streaming titles between 2017 and 2023.”

What are we gaining with the shortened seasons of today? What are we losing?

I was recently struck by the end of this TIME review of “Boarders,” a show streaming via Tubi.

“…there are no cloying Very Special Episodes to be found among this bingeable batch of six. In fact, the only real complaint I have about the first season is that it’s far too short. If ever a TV series could support an old-school, American broadcast order of 23 episodes, it would be this instant classic among teen dramas.”

Are viewers missing out because “Boarders” is only six episodes? Or would it be a lesser show if it had that old-school length? I admittedly haven’t seen the series so I’m not qualified to speculate, but it gets to the heart of an issue I think about a lot as a TV lover of yesterday and today.

And yet, it’s also moot, right? Whether these shorter seasons do or don’t serve me best is largely irrelevant. With the decline of linear television, the rise in bingeing, and a whole lot of other factors, TV seasons are almost certainly never going back to the lengths they once were… for better and for worse.

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Congratulations to Stacey for winning TDW and

Jodie Benveniste

’s book club giveaway! Thank you to all who entered!

Congratulations to “Beef” for winning last week’s “what should I watch?!” poll — I’ll be beginning my binge tonight!

Teen Drama Links for April 2, 2024

Listicle Links

Reminder: All lists and articles relate to the teen dramas or teen drama stars in some way.

• “10 Best Luke Perry Episodes From The Beverly Hills, 90210 High School Seasons” (Screen Rant)

  • I have to say… this is really well done. The Kelly-Dylan fan in me is sad none of their key episodes made the list, but this analysis is otherwise spot-on and makes a really surprising but convincing case for why the much-maligned “Wild Horses” storyline is worthwhile.

• “‘D2: The Mighty Ducks’ Turns 30! Watch Joshua Jackson and Cast’s Rare On-Set Interviews” (Entertainment Tonight)

• “Who Is Scott Foley’s Wife? All About Actress Marika Domińczyk” (People)

• “Celebrate Spring Break With ‘Gilmore Girls,’ ‘The O.C.’ & More Iconic Episodes” (TV Insider)

• “TV Show Heartthrobs We Loved Until We Realized They’re Kind of Awful: Zack Morris, Lucas Scott, More” (Us Weekly)

  • One blurb has a notable mistake and another has a notable omission…

• “Penn Badgley Returns to His New York City Roots as ‘You’ Season 5 Begins Filming” (Us Weekly)

• “7 Actors Who Turned Down Seriously Big TV Shows” (Screen Rant)

• “10 Actors Who Were on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Before They Became Famous” (Movieweb)

• “20 of the best TV series developed from books” (Yardbarker)

• “16 Shows to Tide You Over Until ‘Euphoria’ Returns” (Marie Claire)

• “10 Surprising Facts About 10 Things I Hate About You as Movie Turns 25” (People)

• “Little House on the Prairie Cast: Where Are They Now?” (People)

• “April Fools: TV’s 30+ Biggest Buffoons From Ghosts, Friends, Taxi, The Office and More” (TVLine)

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Best of the Rest

• Darren Star (creator, Beverly Hills, 90210) signed a deal with Universal Television to develop and produce TV series for broadcast and streaming. (Deadline)

• Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills, 90210) filed for divorce from Dean McDermott roughly nine months after he announced their split. (TMZ)

  • Also: “Jennie Garth Has ‘Always Stood Beside’ Tori Spelling and Will ‘Continue to Do That’ amid Divorce News” (People)

  • And: “Ian Ziering Says 90210 Cast Will Always ‘Pull Together’ amid ‘Life’s Ups and Downs’ After Tori Spelling Divorce” (People)

• Spelling launched a new podcast yesterday called “misSpelling” and spoke about the divorce for the first time. (iHeart)

  • Hours later, Spelling hit the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and spoke about both the podcast and the split.

    • “Tori Spelling Says She Hopes to ‘Take the Hard Out’ of Divorce from Dean McDermott: ‘It’s Evolving’” (People)

    • “Tori Spelling on Divorce from Dean McDermott: ‘It Was Time’” (Extra)

• Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Ziering (Steve, Beverly Hills, 90210) participated in a charitable Easter-timed event, along with Emma Caulfield (Susan, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Denise Richards (Robin, Beverly Hills, 90210 / Denise, BH90210 / Gwen, 90210).

  • “Jennie Garth Spends Easter Handing Out Meals in LA’s Skid Row: ‘So Full of Joy and Hope’” (People)

  • “Denise Richards, Nick Cannon, Jennie Garth Talk the Importance of Giving Back at L.A. Mission’s Skid Row Easter Event” (People)

• Shannen Doherty (Brenda, Beverly Hills, 90210), Ben McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.), Morena Baccarin (Maya, The O.C.), and Michelle Hurd (Ms. Fisher, The O.C. / Laurel, Gossip Girl / Rachel, 90210) will appear at FAN EXPO Denver in July. (FAN EXPO)

• “White Collar,” co-starring Tiffani Thiessen (Valerie, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill), is now available on Netflix. (Twitter)

• Peter Krause (Jay, Beverly Hills, 90210) made the media rounds for “9-1-1.”

  • “9-1-1’s Peter Krause on Bobby and Athena’s Near-Death Experience on the Cruise” (TV Guide)

  • “‘9-1-1’: Peter Krause Says Bobby & Athena Are ‘More Committed’ After Confessions” (TV Insider)

  • “‘9-1-1’ Star Peter Krause Says Bobby Should Have Died in Episode 2: ‘We’re Never Going to Top This’” (The Wrap)

  • “Peter Krause Performs a Wild Upside-Down Rescue in ‘9-1-1’s Cruise Episodes” (Collider)

  • “‘9-1-1’s Peter Krause Hopes For Smooth Sailing After Season 7’s Catastrophic Cruise: ‘I Think That Bobby And Athena Will Make It Through Everything’” (Decider)

  • “Peter Krause Compares Shooting ‘9-1-1’ Cruise Arc to Making a Movie” (Parade)

  • “9-1-1’s Peter Krause Admits Ballroom Dancing with Angela Bassett Was ‘Much More Difficult’ Than ‘Stunts’” (People)

  • “Angela Bassett and Peter Krause on How Their Chemistry on 9-1-1 Brought Them ‘Closer Together as Actors’” (People)

  • “‘911’: Angela Bassett and Peter Krause on What’s to Come in Season 7” (Entertainment Tonight)

  • “Exclusive: Peter Krause Talks Previous Roles & New Season of ‘9-1-1:’ ‘I think that there’s an Adam Braverman underneath Bobby Nash’” (Remind)

  • “Peter Krause Takes Foul Shots” (The Talk)

    • There is an additional clip.

• Kyle Richards (Anna, Beverly Hills, 90210) was on the “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast. (Apple Podcasts)

• Ashley Tisdale (Nicole, Beverly Hills, 90210) revealed she’s pregnant with her second child. (Instagram)

• Vanessa Lachey (Camille, BH90210) spoke about being part of the “NCIS” franchise as it approaches its 1,000th episode. (People)

• LaLa Anthony (Shay, BH90210) speaks about her ThreeSixty nonprofit initiative in the April 8 issue of People. (People)

• Sony Pictures Entertainment has launched a FAST channel in Europe, Sony One Faves, that will feature “Dawson’s Creek.” (Deadline)

• James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) surprised Anna Fricke (writer, Dawson’s Creek) on the set of “Walker,” with the help of Peter Kowalski (director, Dawson’s Creek / director, One Tree Hill). (Instagram)

• Jane Lynch (Mrs. Witter, Dawson’s Creek) did press for the new season of “The Weakest Link.”

  • “Jane Lynch on ‘Weakest Link’ persona: ‘I love it so much’” (Today)

  • “Jane Lynch Reveals Which of Our Hosts Is The Weakest Link” (The Talk)

    • There is an additional clip.

• Seth Rogen (Bob, Dawson’s Creek) and his production company Point Grey Pictures extended its deal with Lionsgate Television. (Deadline)

• Alan Dale (Caleb, The O.C.) reacted to Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) recently revealing she and Ben McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) were once romantically involved. (Metro)

  • Also: “TV legend up for big soap return — despite being dead” (Metro)

• Assorted recent Paul Wesley (Donnie, The O.C.) things…

  • “Paul Wesley Shares Only Way He’d Appear in Another Vampire Diaries Show” (E! Online)

  • “Paul Wesley says ‘Vampire Diaries’ fame ‘freaked’ him out: ‘I did not like it’” (New York Post)

  • “Paul Wesley felt ‘pressure’ taking over former neighbor William Shatner’s ‘Star Trek’ role” (New York Post)

  • “Paul Wesley and Ines de Ramon Finalize Divorce” (People)

• Glimpse Max Greenfield (Young Sandy, The O.C.) in the trailer for Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. (YouTube)

• Hurd will be on a panel called “The Methods of Multi-Hyphenates” at SeriesFest. (Deadline)

• Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill), Moira Kelly (Karen, One Tree Hill), Shantel VanSanten (Quinn, One Tree Hill), and Kieren Hutchison (Andy, One Tree Hill) have signed on for Friends with Benefit’s “20in23 Redemption Weekend.” (Facebook)

• Bush shared photos from her recent convention appearance with some of her John Tucker Must Die castmates, including Arielle Kebbel (Vanessa, 90210). (Instagram)

  • The film, of course, also starred Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl) and Brittany Snow (Young Lily, Gossip Girl).

  • You’ll also spy Torrey DeVitto (Carrie, One Tree Hill) in one of the pictures.

• Burton hosted a book event for Phillipa Soo and Maris Pasquale Doran last night. (Instagram)

• Somehow missed this earlier this year: James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill) will be hosting the Open Mind Film Festival at UCLA later this month. (Instagram)

• Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) and Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill) will star in the Lifetime movie Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story. (The Futon Critic)

  • Kramer, a domestic abuse survivor herself, will executive-produce the movie, her daughter will also appear in the film, and she’ll also be shooting a related PSA.

• DeVitto was on the “Work in Progress” podcast, hosted by Bush. (Apple Podcasts)

• The sequel to A Simple Favor, starring Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl), will be released via Amazon Prime at a still-to-be-determined date. (Deadline)

• Badgley was on the “Modern Love” podcast. (The New York Times)

• Aaron Tveit (Tripp, Gossip Girl) and his Sweeney Todd co-star Sutton Foster did a joint interview. (Interview)

• Snow was on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. (Apple Podcasts)

• Whitney Peak (Zoya, Gossip Girl spinoff) has joined the cast of the action movie Trap House. (Deadline)

• Reagan, which features Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210), will be released in theaters in August. (Deadline)

• Alan Ritchson (Tripp, 90210) will star in War Machine for Netflix. (Deadline)