Luke Perry died just weeks after the "Beverly Hills, 90210" reboot, "BH90210," was confirmed. That left many fans wondering what his involvement in the series was supposed to be. In February 2019, while announcing that the show was indeed happening, Tori Spelling told Access Live that Perry hadn't signed on yet because of his commitment to "Riverdale," but assured, "Luke will do as many [episodes] as he can do." Then, following his death, Jennie Garth revealed that he was also involved in series development. "Tori and I had certainly had conversations with him specifically about this, and he was into it," she told Entertainment Weekly.
It's no surprise then that his death impacted "BH90210" moving forward. For one, Shannen Doherty told Us Weekly it pushed her to take part. "I thought it was the right time to do it, to honor a friend and be with my friends, recreating something that was special to America, special to the world, and most importantly, special to all of us," she said. Once they were on set, Garth told Today, "He was with us every second of the time." What's more, the cast made sure to pay tribute to Perry throughout the pilot. As Screen Rant notes, there was a moment of silence, a clip of him from the original show, and a toast during which Spelling proclaimed, "We're not going to all be here forever, but we made something that will be."
