90210 (TV series)

Inter-title used in the first season of the series

The series starts with the Wilson family moving to Beverly Hills and the kids Annie and Dixon adjusting to a new town and school. Annie befriends Naomi Clark. Naomi Clark, who dates Jock Ethan Ward, but soon breaks up with him. Annie and Ethan then pursue a relationship after having dated the summer prior to Annie moving to Beverly Hills when Annie was visiting her grandmother for the summer. Both girls alternate between being friends, enemies, in a love triangle, and almost sisters, due to their parents' child. Their respective mothers find themselves in a love triangle of their own after Tracy's marriage to Charles Clark implodes and she appears to want Harry back. Naomi later becomes attracted to a bartender named Liam, whom she soon finds out is actually her age and becomes a student at West Beverly High. Meanwhile, Ethan and Annie's relationship hits the rocks as he begins to rethink his life after a car accident and gets more or less attracted to Rhonda, the girl he hit. Soon Naomi and Liam begin a romance, and once she becomes friends with Annie again. Liam's repetitive indecisiveness begins as he wants to pursue both of them.

Fallen starlet Adrianna Tate-Duncan, battles a drug addiction, which gets her into trouble when Harry decides to raid the school, thanks to the help of a cop, Kimberly McIntyre, undercover as a student. Kimberly begins a relationship with teacher/lacrosse coach Ryan Matthews, which gets him into trouble with the school. Guilt-ridden, Kimberly does her best to solve the case, giving Ryan his job back, although he takes a leave of absence to rethink his life. Adrianna agrees to enter rehab after Naomi takes the blame for the drugs. There, she begins a relationship with Navid Shirazi, head of the school's paper, who paid for her rehab.

Erin Silver (Kelly Taylor and David Silver's half-sister) quickly befriends Annie and starts dating Dixon, who is somewhat taken aback by her not-so-90210 lifestyle, as she is a virgin who doesn't care about popularity. It is revealed that Silver has bipolar disorder. Kelly becomes Silver's guardian after their mother proves to be an inadequate caretaker for Silver due to her alcoholism. Kelly briefly dates Ryan but discovers that he also slept with Brenda, re-creating the rift between the two friends.

Ethan begins to realize his feelings for Silver, which leads to a confrontation with Dixon and a kiss with Silver. At Naomi and Jen's (her sister) after-prom party, Liam sleeps with Jen after Jen doesn't reveal that she's Naomi's sister. Naomi finds out Liam cheated on her, but thinks he slept with Annie. This culminates in a major fight between Annie and Naomi where Annie is shunned by her peers, runs away, gets in her car drunk and accidentally runs over a man. Annie is not sure whether or not this man survived.

Inter-title used in the remaining seasons of the series

Naomi unknowingly dates a married man in an attempt to get over Liam, who shows up at West Beverly on the first day of school after being absent for the entire summer. Silver and Dixon get back together but break up when he finds out Silver kissed Ethan, who has stayed Montana with his father. Adrianna is desperate to become a normal teenager, giving up acting. Much to Navid's dismay, their relationship is put under further pressure with the arrival of Teddy Montgomery, Adrianna's ex-boyfriend (to whom Adrianna lost her virginity). Meanwhile, the emotionally distant and guilt-ridden Annie has cut herself from society as much as possible, contributing to a growing discord between her and her brother, who is angry at her for sending him and their friends to summer school for underage drinking at the post prom party. Annie meets Jasper and later finds out he's the nephew of the man she ran over last summer. Dixon meets a girl named Sasha when he begins his DJing career. Harry and Debbie face marital problems when Harry confides to Kelly about his family troubles.

Silver accompanies Adrianna to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where she sees her mother, Jackie. Silver learns that Jackie has breast cancer. Adrianna breaks up with Navid to get back with Teddy but learns that Teddy does not want a relationship, which makes Adrianna feel sorry for the mistake she has made. Jen continues to manipulate both Naomi and Ryan by convincing Naomi into lending her a large amount of money, and by persuading Ryan that Liam is hitting on her. Liam meets Ivy Sullivan, a surfer whom he butts heads with. They form a friendship, which is later made complicated by Ivy having feelings for Liam, feelings which Liam rebuffs.

Navid witnesses Adrianna buying drugs from Jasper which causes him to confront them. Liam finally confides to Dixon, Teddy, and Ivy about the events on prom night as they try to figure out a way to expose Jen. Annie confronts Jasper about his lies and he reveals to her that he knows she was the one who killed his uncle. Annie finally decides to end it with Jasper, who then tries to commit suicide by jumping off of the Hollywood Sign. Dixon gets caught up in gambling, getting him into trouble at school with some boys he owes money to. Teddy is shown a huge tennis player and has a bright future of that in front of him. His dad does not want any girls getting in the way including Teddy's girlfriend, Silver.

Naomi and Liam start their relationship fresh. Naomi is forced to come clean over false rumors she spread claiming that she was sexually harassed by a teacher, Mr. Cannon, Liam decides that he needs a break from her. During this time, Annie and Liam become closer. Naomi becomes distracted by her pregnant sister Jen returning to town and causing trouble for Naomi. Naomi finds out that Ryan is the father of Jen's baby, and informs him of his impending fatherhood. Jen does not want Ryan to have anything to do with the future of their baby, but Ryan is insistent that he should be involved. After Liam breaks up with her, a devastated Naomi is raped by Mr. Cannon, who tells her that after her initial false accusations, nobody will believe her. Dixon leaves for Australia with Ivy after witnessing his parents having another argument. Annie reveals to Liam about the hit-and-run, and he encourages her to confess. Jasper is jealous that Annie and Liam are spending so much time together and sets fire to Liam's boat.

Season three begins with Beverly Hills being shaken up by an earthquake as the main characters start out their senior year. Naomi spent the summer isolating herself, assuring her friends' visits by promising money from her trust fund. She decides to report her rape by Mr. Cannon but backs out after discovering that her case will be made more difficult by her previous false accusations. Later, Jen feels that she is a bad mother, and leaves her son in the hands of Ryan.

Meanwhile, Annie and Dixon are going through rough times after their parents' divorce and attempt to keep the family close. Debbie deals with the realities of being a newly single mother. Annie has spent the summer on house arrest, probation and having a suspended license after confessing to her hit-and-run. Liam isn't happy that Annie didn't return his calls over the summer. Annie finds romance with a college student, Charlie, who turns out to be Liam's half-brother, with whom Liam has a tumultuous relationship with Charlie due to their rocky past. Teddy and Silver are happy to be together, but in the earthquake, Teddy injures his leg, which could possibly end his tennis career.

Teddy is also struggling with his sexuality, after realizing that he drunkenly slept with another guy, Ian. After some discouraging behavior from Teddy, Silver breaks up with him. Adrianna is back from a summer of touring with the pop star, Javier. The two become a couple until Navid reveals to Adrianna that he has never stopped loving her, and she dumps Javier for Navid.

Ivy is still with Dixon but returns from Australia with her old childhood friend, Oscar, who seems to make Dixon uncomfortable. Annie begins to have other troubles, when her cousin Emily visits from Kansas. Emily starts to take over things in Annie's life; her friends, her acting roles, her internship, and her relationship with Liam. After a serious accident during surf practice, Ivy is prescribed medical marijuana to help relieve anxiety, and meets Raj. Raj reveals to Ivy that he has cancer and they start a close friendship that blossoms into a relationship after he helps her recover from her fear of getting back into the water.

Navid and Silver have developed a secret relationship. Navid breaks up with Adrianna due to her new self-centered behavior, after which Adrianna discovers that Navid had been cheating on her with Silver. During a retreat, Naomi meets Guru Sona, whom she believes to have good intentions, but later realizes that she scammed her out of a large sum of money. A nerdy guy, Max, helps her get her money back, after which Naomi develops feelings for him. After continuing to feud with each other, Silver and Adrianna call a truce and resolve their friendship. Later though, Adrianna deceives Silver and switches her bipolar medication with placebos, causing Silver to spin out of control. After noticing Silver's strange behavior, Navid and Dixon intervene and have Silver committed to a mental hospital.

While Silver is in the hospital, Adrianna takes the opportunity to get close to Navid by getting him drunk and telling him that they kissed. When Navid continues to reject her, Adrianna tells Silver that Navid kissed her, effectively breaking them up.

Raj's health worsens, making him and Ivy concerned for his life. Ivy and Raj decide to get married. During the bachelor/bachelorette party, Silver's stolen medication falls out of Adrianna's purse. After being shunned by her friends and considering suicide, Adrianna resolves to become a better person. Liam decides not to attend college and takes a job on a fishing boat during the summer, making Annie sad but says she'll wait for him. Max is told that he must stay away from Naomi by his parents, but she later reveals to him that she is pregnant.

Season four begins with Naomi breaking up with Max after what she feels is his excessive relief on discovering that her pregnancy was a false positive.

Liam comes back from his job on the fishing boat and asks Annie twice to marry him, but she says no both times. . Silver and Navid are living together as Navid manages his business, but are forced to take in his rebellious teenage sister, Leila, when she refuses to go to boarding school. His life is further complicated by the discovery that his uncle has been running a stolen car ring out of Shirazi Studios. Ivy finds herself dealing with the emotional toll of Raj's deteriorating health. Naomi buys a large house, coming into conflict with the owner's son Austin.

Liam gets into a motorcycle accident while trying to find Annie. A blonde woman named Vanessa, who hits Liam with her car, calls 911 and says that it was a "hit and run". Silver finds out by the end of the episode that her boyfriend's adopted daughter might be Adrianna's. Dixon has a mild stroke and is taken to the hospital. The doctor informs him that he needs to avoid stress, but he's been under the pressure of hiding his newfound success with his music career without Adrianna. Silver learns that she may have the cancer gene that caused her mother's death two years ago. Upon being discharged from the hospital, Dixon notices Ivy's husband Raj has been admitted to the same hospital and learns that Raj's cancer has returned and he's dying.

Ivy visits the hospital, and along with the support of her friends, makes amends with Raj. As she returns to Raj's room, she learns that he has died in his sleep. At Raj's funeral, the record company calls Dixon's phone, which Adrianna had in her possession, and she finds out that they've signed him but not her. Navid comes back for the funeral, and the gang pays their final respects to Raj at the beach. Ivy is seen late at night at the beach with her surfboard. Caleb, who is at the beach, warns her about the danger of surfing in the rough waves, but Ivy heads on muttering to herself "Nothing lasts forever right" and runs into the water.

As the wedding of Madison and Max begins, Naomi abruptly interrupts the services and confesses her love for Max. Elsewhere, Ivy is seen going off to Mexico to be with Diego, who was deported because he was an illegal immigrant in the U.S. and only ask for a one-way ticket. At the very end of the season finale, Adrianna is boarding a plane to Las Vegas to kickstart her country music career because Dixon has not returned on time from the tour, but little does she know the car broke down and he had to hitchhike. As Dixon is on the phone with Navid telling him to stop Adrianna, a truck hits Dixon's car.

Season five starts out with the viewers finding out that Dixon is not dead, and the gang must come to terms with Dixon's new disability. Vanessa comes back into Liam's life asking for a second chance, but Liam refuses. Navid and Liam are drinking at the beach after finding out Silver asked Teddy to be the father of her baby. Angry about Silver, Liam accidentally starts a fire in his bar and walks away from it. Obsessed Vanessa appears again and blackmails Liam into being in a relationship with her.

Naomi and Max throw a party for their marriage and Max's business partner Alec invites special guests to build their business up again.

Attempting to make him feel better, Liam helps Dixon surf again. Annie meets a new guy, Riley, who's in a wheelchair.

An explosion ocurs at the theater Adrianna is singing at and gets stuck in the rubble. Navid returns to the scene to find Adrianna amongst the wreckage, where they realize their love for one another and vow to plan their future together. Naomi throws a relief concert for the theater explosion and later decides to fly out to Washington DC after making amends with Jordan. Silver receives the devastating news that she has cancer, however, she states that she will do everything she can to put up a fight. Annie decides to stay in Paris after her book tour finishes. While saying goodbye, Dixon reminds Annie that he will be there for her no matter what. As Annie prepares for takeoff, Liam chases after the plane on his motorcycle. The plane comes to a stop and Liam gets down on one knee, proposing to Annie. He says that he has always loved her and will not take "no" for an answer. After Annie tearfully accepts, the news spreads quickly to friends who share in the excitement. The episode ends with Annie and Liam hugging one another in a joyful embrace.

The first actor to be cast was Dustin Milligan on April 1, 2008,[1] followed by AnnaLynne McCord on April 14.[2] Sachs found Milligan to be "really funny", and changed Ethan to better represent his personality. McCord was cast because, according to Sachs, "she's someone who is worldly, and there's a sophistication to her that's interesting".[3] The role of Annie was given to Shenae Grimes, who says she was raised watching the original series.[4] Sachs and Judah had seen Grimes' work before and knew "she had the acting chops", and she was cast after acting a dramatic scene which she "just killed". Sachs stated, "she can act, she's beautiful, and she can give this sweet cuteness [that lets us see] through her eyes into this world."[3]

Lori Loughlin auditioned for the role of Debbie and was given the part straight away. Sachs thought that Loughlin was too established to read for the part, but realized that she understood the role immediately. The producers were fans of Jessica Walter after watching her film, Play Misty for Me. Sachs found that Walter knew pieces of scenes, and suggested "stuff that works".[3] Sachs described Ryan Eggold, who portrayed Matthews, as "a sophisticated actor, and he's also very funny". Sachs believed that every time Eggold would be on screen, "people are going to go, 'Wow!'".[3] The producers were looking for an actor who could portray Silver as a "quirky kid who moves to her own beat". Sachs explained that Jessica Stroup "came in dressed for the part, artsy and quirky, and she had her hair up and she had a bandanna. She nailed it."[3] The producers were fans of Tristan Wilds for his acting on The Wire, and hoped to hire him as Dixon from the start of casting. When asked about Michael Steger, who portrays Navid, Sachs said "he's just great".[3] Rob Estes, the last actor to join the series, was a previous cast member of the first Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off, Melrose Place. Estes was sought by The CW to play Harry,[5] but was contracted on the drama Women's Murder Club. When that series was canceled, Sachs called Estes and explained the spin-off to him, and he thought it was a great idea. Sachs promised that although he was playing a parent, he would not "be furniture... as in the seldom seen or heard parents who populate many youth-centric series, like the Walsh parents on the original 90210."[3]

The CW confirmed that Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling and Joe E. Tata would be returning in recurring roles as their original characters.[6] Sachs was familiar with Garth, and talked to her about a possible role in the series. Garth agreed to star on the series without reading a script after brainstorming ideas with Sachs.[7] The producers offered Garth a role as a series regular, but she opted to sign on as a recurring character.[8] Doherty decided to appear after talking with Sachs, but her appearance was moved to the second episode.[6] Sachs described Tata's casting as an accident; a friend told Sachs that he had seen Tata in a store, which led to the offer of a recurring role in the series. Sachs said that Tata was ecstatic about the idea and agreed.[9] After reading the script, Spelling expressed interest in returning, and the writers decided to give her character her own fashion line.[9] Spelling was scheduled to appear in the première, but due to personal reasons and the birth of her daughter, she opted to appear later in the season.[10]

Once pitched, the project was put on the fast track by The CW, and an order of the pilot was expected by the end of the month. The Beverly Hills, 90210 creator, Darren Star, was announced not to be involved with the project. The only surviving element from the original series was believed to be Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency which conceived the spin-off idea. Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas was in negotiations to write the pilot and Mark Piznarski was in talks to direct it.

A detailed breakdown of the pilot written by Thomas was released on March 17, 2008, containing information on the plot and characters which would be in the series. None of the characters were related to the original series of 90210 which again aired a quite few years before, except Erin Silver played by Jessica Stroup; however, the new series featured a similar premise: a family with two teenagers who recently moved from the Midwest to Beverly Hills. To reflect the situation at the Beverly Hills school, where around 40 percent of the students were of Persian descent, a student named Navid Shirazi was created. Thomas intended to introduce The Peach Pit, the diner from Beverly Hills, 90210, but noted that it would not be featured in the pilot. The writer considered giving the siblings a job at a movie theater, as he did not want them to use their parents' credit cards. Thomas revealed that there were plans to reintroduce one of the original cast members, but had not met with any of them to discuss a role. Thomas later elaborated the producers wanted to see "as many of the original cast members as possible", but were careful not to "parade them all out in the pilot".

On April 14, 2008, Thomas announced that he was sidelining the series to focus on his two pilots for ABC. Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah were hired as the new executive producers and wrote a new version of the script in late April. Sachs said that although Thomas had a "great script", their version of the script was edgier. Judah said that they were trying to ground their script in reality, with real character stories and emotional stories. The writers wanted the audience to relate to the characters' problems, which they wanted to be truthful and emotional, but also comedic. The pair were interested in telling several stories simultaneously, featuring many characters.[11] The pair changed the surname of the main family from Mills to Wilson, along with changing the name of the mother from Celia to Debbie. The pair also told reporters that they would be adding their "comedic impulses" to the script.[4] Sachs and Judah found the parents to be an important part of the series, and designed to be contemporary parents.[11] Since the producers were both fathers, they designed the script to include more prominent adult story lines and a strong point of view on parenting. Judah was interested in focusing on how the family kept their moral center when moving to Beverly Hills, and the way the parents dealt with their teenagers.[12] On May 11, 2008, one day before The CW's upfront presentations, the network officially picked up the series for the 2008–2009 television season.[13]

Despite the first season having the highest ratings of the entire series run, the show was largely considered unsuccessful during its first season. The characters were a hit. After disagreeing with the network executives over the series' storylines, Sachs and Judah ended their tenure as producers. The CW wanted the series to have a female perspective and focus more on teenage life and glamour; however, Judah and Sachs were more comfortable writing for men, featuring family stories. The studio brought in Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair, co-executive producer of the popular show Gilmore Girls, to revamp the failing 90210. Sinclair is largely credited for saving the show, which had steady ratings in its third season. For the remainder of the first season, Judah worked in post-production, including editing and music supervision, while Sachs ran the production on set. Rebecca Sinclair began retooling the series as head writer and formally took over the show at the start of season two.[14] In late February 2009, Sinclair signed a seven-figure deal with the producers to serve as executive producer/showrunner for the series' second and third seasons.[15]

On February 16, 2010, The CW renewed the show for a third season.[16] It was also moved to Mondays at 8/7c.[17] On April 26, 2011, The CW renewed the show for a fourth season.[18] On March 17, 2011, it was revealed that Sinclair would step down as executive producer when her contract expired at the end of season three.[19] It was later announced that former Life Unexpected executive producers Patti Carr and Lara Olsen had been hired to take over the series.[20] The show also returned to its debut timeslot, Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m.[21] On May 3, 2012, The CW officially renewed 90210 for a fifth season.[22]

On January 13, 2013, CW president Mark Pedowitz stated that though the show hadn't had a season 6 renewal in place, the show would most likely be back the following year for what would've been its final season as he said he was a "big believer in giving fans a very satisfactory conclusion" for a long-running show [23] However, on February 28, 2013, the announcement came that the fifth season would be its last.[24]

On March 13, 2008, Kristin Dos Santos of E! confirmed that the series would be a spin-off with new characters and not a remake.[25] In order for the project to be ready for the network's "upfront" presentations to advertisers in May, casting began before the script was completed.[26]

Original series actors Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Joe E. Tata signed on for recurring roles during early production.[6] Sachs was familiar with Garth, and talked to her about a possible role in the series. Garth agreed to work in the series without reading a script after brainstorming ideas with Sachs.[11] Initially, the producers offered Garth a role as a series regular but, she opted to sign on as recurring instead.[8] Sachs met with Doherty over dinner and told her about the 90210 spin-off. Over the next few weeks, they established Brenda's backstory as a 'name' stage actress and Doherty agreed to guest-star in several episodes,[11][6] appearing in the credits during the first half-season. Otherwise, Doherty only appeared in supporting roles.

From early on in the news reports of the upcoming series through most of the summer, it was reported that along with Doherty and Garth, Tori Spelling would be reprising her role as an older alumni of West Beverly Hills High. After reading the script, Tori Spelling expressed interest returning, and the writers decided to give Donna her own fashion line.[27] Spelling was scheduled to appear in the premiere, but due to personal reasons and the birth of her daughter, she opted to appear later in the season.[28] Backdrop retail store signage in the first several episodes during shopping excursions scenes and one setup line referring to her role foreshadowed the role that would be unfulfilled. By August 11, it was reported that Spelli of the series after discovering that she was receiving less pay than Garth and Doherty. Spelling asked for her salary of $20,000 per episode to be increased to match their salaries—$40,000 to $50,000 per episode—but when denied she left the show altogether.[29]

The first actor to be cast was Dustin Milligan as lacrosse player Ethan Ward,[30] followed by AnnaLynne McCord as Naomi Clark.[31] The role of aspiring actress Annie Wilson, won by Shenae Grimes, was originally offered to Hilary Duff, who turned it down due to dissatisfaction with the pilot script.[32][4]

Jessica Lowndes was selected to portray actress and singer Adrianna Tate-Duncan, introduced as a theater performer who once had a drug addiction,[33] and would also go through a teen pregnancy and many other serious conflicts as a dark character with many lovable aspects. The Adrianna Tate-Duncan role had been upgraded to a starring role in Jessica Walters' spot,[34] Tristan Wilds was cast as step-brother to Annie Wilson; Lori Loughlin won the role of their mother, photographer wife Debbie Wilson. Michael Steger was cast as the school television news director and congenial very nice guy, Navid Shirazi who maintained the nice-guy status throughout all 114 episodes (2008-2013) of generally being walked on or victimized. Rob Estes was chosen for the part of Harry Wilson, and only appeared in the first two seasons. Estes was a previous cast member of the first Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off, Melrose Place.[35]

Sinclair announced in March 2009 that the series' second season would rely less on 90210 alums like Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty to boost ratings. She felt that "the show tried to be a lot of things to a lot of people in its first season [...] I think the center lies with the generation of kids that are in high school now." It was also announced that Dustin Milligan ('Ethan Ward') would not be coming back for season two, while Matt Lanter would be joining the cast as a series regular.[36] Casting soon began for new characters to be introduced in the second season. In June 2009, the series was reportedly looking for an actor to play the recurring role of Teddy, a tennis champ returning to West Beverly.[37] Actor and model Trevor Donovan was later cast in the role.[38] Ann Gillespie returned in the second season for multiple episodes as Jackie Taylor, Silver and Kelly's mother. Her character was once again sober and hoped to reconnect with her daughters after being diagnosed with cancer.[39]

One of the show's locations was a complex on Waverly Drive in the Los Feliz neighborhood, designed by architect Bernard Maybeck in 1927 and best known as the convent of Immaculate Heart of Mary.[40]

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of 90210 on The CW.

The series premiere was seen by 4.65 million U.S. viewers.[64] The UK premiere was seen by 468,000 viewers on E4.[65]

The second season premiered to 2.56 million viewers and achieved 1.3 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic, up 18% from its first-season finale but down 50% from its series premiere.[66] Although ratings decreased after its three-month hiatus it was the #1 most successful show on DVR in the 18-49 percentage increase between March 22–28 increasing to a 1.1 rating.[67] DVR ratings for the show have sometimes doubled its broadcast ratings.[45][46] The CW have described its DVR ratings as some of the most impressive on TV and cited them as the reason for the series' fourth season renewal.[68]

The third-season premiere was viewed by 1.96 million viewers in the United States and achieved a 0.9 rating in Adults 18–49.[69] Episode 11 hit season highs in all categories with a 1.1 Adults 18-49 rating, 1.4 Adults 18-34 and 2.1 in The CW's target of Women 18–34. It was also the most watched episode in over a year with 2.18 million viewers tuning in.[70] In the UK, the eighth episode of season three "Mother Dearest" was seen by 548,000 viewers, bettering its series premiere.[65]

Most reviews of the pilot were average. Metacritic gave the episode a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select 12 critical reviews—of 46, signifying mixed or average reviews.[71] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe felt that like the original, 90210 was "pretty good". Gilbert said that the episode "seemed to take forever to set up some remarkably bland plotlines", which he found had been executed with more finesse by other teen soaps. The reviewer criticized the writers for "unimaginative material", and commented on the risqué oral sex scene. Gilbert claimed that the characters lacked depth and distinction throughout the pilot, especially Naomi, whom he compared negatively to Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf.[72] By contrast, Tom Gliatto of People magazine gave Naomi Clark a favorable review, but stated that he felt the cast as a whole had yet to gel.[73] When compared to the original series, Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette felt that the spin-off covered the same themes—family, friends, teen melodrama, relationships—but with more humor. Owen praised the compelling characters and the acting, and found the dialogue to be more painful than clever.[74]

As the show continued its first season, the response became considerably more positive, and by the second season critical response was favorable. Entertainment Weekly gave the second season an A−, stating that "all it took was a little sunshine to give this show some heat", and that the "new, trashier take is working" after what they considered a "drippy" first season.[75] LaDale Anderson of Canyon News commented on the change between the first two seasons, saying that "the transformation of the characters and storylines in season two has been fantastic", and "sometimes a show needs a makeover and with the right pieces in place a not so good show can become something sensational." The reviewer opined that "what has worked so well [...] is that the characters are not one-dimensional. With most shows characters seamlessly continue to embody characteristics that solely define them, but not here." Anderson also praised the writing, saying it was "intricate and intertwines itself without forcing the storylines to connect; they mesh naturally."[76]