Key Points
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Jason Priestley went on The Slice of Life Show podcast, where he opened up about Shannen Doherty’s early exit from Beverly Hills, 90210.
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While there has been well-documented reports of on-set drama, the actor says, “I only have fond memories of working with her on the show.”
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Before her passing, Doherty had Priestley on her podcast, where she said her marriage at the time was a contributing factor in her getting let go from the series.
Jason Priestley is looking back on one of the most difficult behind-the-scenes moments of Beverly Hills, 90210—Shannen Doherty‘s early exit.
During a recent appearance on Pete Ferriero’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8cCd2vvNDQ” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>The Slice of Life Show podcast, the actor, who played Brandon Walsh on the classic ’90s teen drama, opened up about Doherty’s departure at the end of the show’s fourth season, explaining that her behavior had become increasingly disruptive but that the decision to part ways with his costar wasn’t an easy one.
“I really feel like Shannen’s behavior started to get disruptive only in the fourth season of the show, and then she left at the end of the fourth season,” Priestley recalled.
Despite the circumstances surrounding her exit, Priestley emphasized that he personally never had a problem with Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh, Brandon’s twin sister, on the series.
“There was never an issue between her and I specifically,” he said. “I always loved Shannen. I loved working with her. She was a great actress. She was a great scene partner.”
He added, “I only have fond memories of working with her on the show.”
When asked whether he still believed it was the right decision, he paused and responded, “That’s a tough question.” Adding, “I feel like, given the information that we had, we made the only choice that we could.”
Priestley suggested that things might have turned out differently had Doherty been more open about what was happening in her personal life at the time.
“Had Shannen been more forthcoming about what was happening with her in her life at that point in time, I think we could have made a different choice,” he explained.
In 2024, the actress had Priestley on as a guest on her podcast, Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty.During the conversation, Doherty explained that her marriage to then-husband Ashley Hamilton played a part in her getting let go from the show, saying, “Towards my last season, I was in a really horrible marriage and there were things transpiring in that marriage that made it very hard for me to consistently be on time for work.”
She further added, “I don’t think anybody knew that my father was super-sick, and I don’t think anybody knew that my husband was a massive drug addict… and it was all-consuming for me. I didn’t even want to leave the house because I was scared that he would go and get drugs.”
The actor pointed out to Ferriero that losing Doherty meant losing one of the essential ingredients behind the show’s success. And indeed, fans were shocked at the time when she left the series.
“You got to remember, it was scary for us because Shannen was part of the secret sauce that made the show successful, and we were going to lose that,” he said. “As much as we knew it was going to impact her life and her career, we knew that it was going to impact our show as well.”
He reiterated that the decision was not made lightly, adding that fans sometimes have a tendency to romanticize the behind-the-scenes experience of the shows they grew up watching, saying, “You know the reality is we weren’t a bunch of kids in high school kids. We were a bunch of adults getting up in the morning and being at work at 6:30 in the morning and working until 7 or 8 at night and then going home.”
Priestley has been revisiting his90210days in recent weeks. Last month, he reunited with former costar Jennie Garth on her 9021OMG podcast, where the two discussed another major turning point in the show’s history: his decision to leave the series.
During that conversation, Priestley revealed that Brandon and Kelly Taylor (Garth) were originally supposed to get married, but his departure from the show ultimately changed those plans.
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“Yeah, I think so,” Priestley said when Garth asked whether the couple was always meant to end up together. “I think that was the overall plan.”
“So what exactly happened?” Garth asked.
“I left,” Priestley replied.
The actor, who played Brandon for eight seasons, explained that his exit, which prompted his character’s move to Washington, D.C., made the planned wedding impossible. He also reflected on his growing frustration with the show’s increasingly melodramatic storylines, admitting that he had repeatedly encouraged executive producer Aaron Spelling to bring the series to an end while it was still successful.
“I couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Beverly Hills, 90210 ran for 10 seasons, ending in May 2000.
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