Cast and crew ready to rent for new season at CW

By Michelle Foody

Melrose Place though Locklear rent overdue

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/10/09 — Hot on the heels of its 90210 remake’s surprise success, the CW is bringing us back to that other familiar residential den of vice and pretty people: Melrose Place. Nearly the entire cast, plus its executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, made the trek to Pasadena recently, to regale the TCA press with tidbits, quotable sound bites, and a clip.
Returning MP vets Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro will resume their roles as Sydney Andrews and Dr. Michael Mancini, respectively, joined by a slew of young 20-somethings, all will surely be stirring up trouble at 4616 Melrose Place.
“I was very excited to find out he had even more money than before and ultimate power. So if he continues to be an evildoer, that bodes well for this ability to do so. That’s what I got excited about,” said Calabro, whose character now also has a son. “Michael was never a bad guy. He did bad things to preserve his good life.”
As for MP landlady Sydney, the season will kick off with a bloody swimming pool murder, leaving Leighton to appear regularly, but in flashbacks, over several episodes. Explains Exec Producer Swimmer:
“There’s no reason why we won’t see Sydney. Part of the concept is that L.A. is a city full of many artifices and different sides…That’s something we want to explore with Sydney also. It’s not completely tied into her murder mystery, some of it is character revelations and her relationship with the new tenants on the show.”
Returning residents aside, arguably the biggest name attached is tabloid stalwart Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, sister to Jessica, wife of Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, and new mommy to son Bronx Mowgli. Simpson-Wentz went redhead for the role, playing naïve L.A. newbie Violet.
“It’s fun for me to play the innocent side, but the really innocent girl is probably not so innocent. She’s got a dark side,” insisted the singer-turned-actress. “But I wouldn’t say that I am like Violet.”
Another new, young face taking up residence is Katie Cassidy (yes, David Cassidy’s daughter) as Ella, assuming the blond vixen archetype vacated by a certain Heather Locklear.
“I haven’t spoken to her, but she’s a wonderful actress and I think she’s great. And my character is exploring her sexuality. I have no idea what’s to come but I’m sure it’s going to be crazy,” explained Cassidy, who had never seen the original, being too young when it originally aired, well over a decade ago.
“We call her try-sexual, which is, she will try anything”, added Slavkin, who spent seven seasons on “Smallville”, along with producing partner Swimmer.
And then there’s the elephant-in-the-room question: what about Heather Locklear? “We’re huge fans of hers and have a great way for her to come into the show. So the door is always open for Heather,” insisted Slavkin.
As for that public campaign by Lisa Rinna, wanting to get back to her Taylor McBride roots:
“I think we’re open to all possibilities when it comes to the former cast members. It really just depends on when the opportunity comes to have it happen organically and have it fit the story in a way that seems natural,” said Swimmer. “But I think her campaign was a little bit in fun. She wasn’t calling our offices.”
After the new “Melrose Place” enjoys its series premier on Tuesday, September 8th perhaps the entire old cast will be clamoring to see if there are vacancies, or, depending on how it goes, thanking their lucky stars they didn’t move back in.