Watch the Melrose Place cast reunite for first time in almost a decade

Rachel Yang
·4 min read

The cast members from throwback titles like The Goonies and Dallas have virtually reunited recently, and now Melrose Place is the latest classic TV cast to get together.

Marcia Cross (Kimberly Shaw), Heather Locklear (Amanda Woodward), Andrew Shue (Billy Campbell), and more reconvened on Tuesday for a great cause. Hosted by Stars in the House' Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, the event was organized in support of the Actors Fund.

It was a special treat for fans of the soapy show, as the former costars hadn't reunited in a long time. The series originally aired from 1992 to 1999.

"This is the first time everyone's gotten together in like, 8 years," the hosts noted.

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Stars Josie Bissett (Jane Mancini), Thomas Calabro (Michael Mancini), Laura Leighton (Sydney Andrews), Doug Savant (Matt Fielding), Grant Show (Jake Hanson), Courtney Thorne-Smith (Alison Parker), and Daphne Zuniga (Jo Reynolds) also took part in the reunion.

The former costars revealed some fun behind-the-scenes secrets from their time on the show about young singles all living in one Los Angeles apartment building.

And if you ever thought the show had confusing or iffy storylines — don't worry, you're not alone. Even the actors themselves said they had some qualms while filming.

For instance, Show said he wasn't a fan of the relationship between his character, an adult, and Beverly Hills, 90210's Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), a teenager, despite it being the reason for the show's creation.

“I thought it was a little creepy. She was a little too young for him. That’s how I felt about it. I don’t think it would fly nowadays," he said.

Also, because filming went by so fast, the performers would have to prepare for two episodes at once. Thorne-Smith said she got so confused by Jo's custody trial storyline that she had to call Zuniga to get clarity.

Leighton even said that she hated filming in the series' famous pool, which saw lots of screen time during the show's tenure. She called it "gross," while Savant, her husband and former costar, similarly dubbed it a “Petri dish."

Still, the actors fondly remembered their time on the drama. Cross even said her character's journey mirrored her own, in some ways. Her longtime partner died in 1993, and she returned to the show as a way "to survive."

"I got a phone call from them saying, 'Would you like to come back at the end of the year?' I said, 'I don't understand, I'm driving off a cliff today, I'm dying [on the show].' And they said, 'No, no, no, we're going to change that,'" Cross recalled. "So I went away for a few months and then came back. I was really lucky because then I went crazy [on the show], which was how I was feeling in my real life ... I really had a place to let it all out, I was grieving and upset. Kimberly went crazy and Marcia was having a hard time, too. So it all worked out beautifully."

Cross, who's also known for her role on Desperate Housewives, revealed that she had no idea fans would react so strongly to her now-famous wig reveal in season 2.

“I just did what they told me to do," she said. "I was flying back and forth from San Diego, so when it actually aired and it was a big deal, I was shocked … I’ll never be able to live that down."

Fans rejoiced at seeing the cast, with many taking to Twitter to lobby for more Melrose content.

"OMG! This made me so happy. Melrose Place was my first favorite show," Aaron Wallis tweeted.

Another wrote, "@LauraLeighton loved, loved, loved the reunion tonight!!! They should totally reboot #MelrosePlace .. and you and Doug are hilarious together!"

Speaking of reboots, Locklear, who starred in a short-lived continuation of the series in 2009, hinted that she wasn't done with her character just yet.

“It would be fun to play Amanda again," she said.

Seeing that many shows from the '80s and '90s are getting the reboot treatment, like 90210 and Punky Brewster, a Melrose revival doesn't seem to be out of the picture.

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