Shannen Doherty ‘Definitely Wasn’t Going to Do’ the ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ Revival – Until Luke Perry’s Death

“Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Shannen Doherty “definitely” wasn’t on board for “BH90210,” Fox’s meta-revival of the series — and then Luke Perry, who played her on-screen love interest on the original show, died.

“So with me, it was, as these guys know, I definitely wasn’t going to do it,” Doherty told reporters while sitting next to her co-stars during the revival’s panel at Television Critics Association press tour Wednesday. “And nothing against the show, I knew that the show would, you know, get sold and do well with or without me. But they didn’t need me, so it just wasn’t at that moment what I wanted to be doing.”

The six-episode series, which premieres tonight, centers on the original cast — Doherty (who played Brenda Walsh), Gabrielle Carteris (Andrea Zuckerman), Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor), Brian Austin Green (David Silver), Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh), Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders) and Tori Spelling (Donna Martin) — playing fictionalized versions of themselves “with a healthy dose of irreverence” as they try to get a revival of their old show off the ground.

Also Read: 'BH90210' Cast Re-Creates Original Opening Credits for New Fox Series (Video)

At the time of Perry’s (who played Dylan McKay on “90210”) death in March, the actor — who was starring on The CW’s “Riverdale” — was not planning on participating in the project.

“And when Luke passed away, things drastically changed for me and I felt like it was a great opportunity to sort of honor him,” Doherty continued. “And I’m really glad that I made that decision because now I get to sit up here with a lot of people that I respect and I love and we went on this amazing journey together where we also got to really sort of heal through losing somebody who means the world to all of us.”

Paul Sciarrotta and “BH90210” co-creators Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler are co-showrunners on the series.

Also Read: 11 Most Memorable 'Beverly Hills, 90210' Moments: From the Dress Incident to Donna and David's Wedding (Photos)

“BH90210” series is based on a concept by Alberghini, Chessler, Spelling and Garth. Cast members Carteris, Doherty, Green, Priestley and Ziering will also serve as executive producers.

The original “Beverly Hills, 90210,” created by Darren Star and produced by Tori Spelling’s father, Aaron Spelling, ran for 10 seasons on Fox between 1990 and 2000.

“BH90210” premieres tonight, Wednesday, at 9/8c on Fox.