Entertainment Weekly is reporting that 90210 heartthrob and main character Ethan Ward (played by actor Dustin Milligan) is being written off the show for the second season next Fall … coincidentally, right around the time that a new actor named Matt Lanter signs on to become a series regular for the new season (Lanter plays badboy Liam who catches bad girl Naomi’s eye). It should also be noted that the series is under new direction by Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair (who ran things on Gilmore Girls), taking over for the previous show runners Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs. It sounds like 90210 is going to go thru a big revamp in the second season … and Dustin Milligan is the first casualty of that revamp:

90210’s new boss lady, Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair, recently told me that the soap’s second season would be “significantly” different than the first, and, man, she wasn’t kidding. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Dustin Milligan, who plays affable jock (and one half of 90210’s central super couple) Ethan, won’t be returning to the show in the fall — at least not full time. Reps for The CW and producer Paramount declined comment, but a 90210 insider confirms that Milligan’s contract option is not being picked up for next season. The source adds that the door is being left open for the actor to briefly appear in the fall to wrap up Ethan’s story. All indications are that Milligan’s exit was strictly a creative decision. “Everyone loves Dustin,” maintains the insider. “There was just a feeling that the character had run its course.” (Curiously, the news comes just days after Milligan’s newbie co-star, Matt Lanter — a.k.a. bad boy Liam — confirmed that he was being promoted to a series regular next season.) The departure of one the show’s most high profile leading men is the clearest indication yet that Sinclair’s ongoing reboot of the reboot will be anything but minor. Viewers will get their first taste of the Gilmore Girl alum’s new vision when 90210 returns from its winter hiatus this Tuesday with a hilariously campy outing that features the primetime soap trifecta: stalkers, street-racing, and scenery-chewing! Looking ahead to season 2, Sinclair said last month that she wants to “reconceive things visually. There are opportunities to embrace California culture visually in terms of fashion and style; I want it to be more contemporary. “If Gossip Girl is about youth in New York,” she elaborated, “I want to [make 90210] about youth in L.A. and Beverly Hills.” The writer-producer also plans to rely less on 90210 vets such as Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, and Tori Spelling to boost ratings. “The show tried to be a lot of things to a lot of people in its first season,” she conceded. “I think the center lies with the generation of kids that are in high school now. I’m not interested in casting people for stunt value.” Sinclair, who replaces original show-runners Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, said the show will benefit from having a singular vision. “The advantage of having one person — me — [in charge] is that scripts, what happens on the set, casting… it all speaks in one voice.”

While this news is sad I can’t say that it’s entirely surprising. The character of Ethan Ward was painted into a corner by making him too sweet and too nice. When it comes to prime time dramas, the nice guy does finish last … and then gets cut from the show. This revamping of the show reminds me of what happened with Melrose Place back in the 90’s. The show started out with everyone loving one another and everyone being nice and sweet to one another … and then all hell broke loose. The characters were reworked to make them bitchy, Heather Locklear was brought on to be the Queen B and the popularity of the show hit the stratosphere. It sounds like this Sinclair lady is trying to do the same thing with 90210 … we’ll see if she’s successful. I’m concerned that the show is planning to “rely less” on the BH, 90210 alums Garth, Doherty and Spelling … especially since the series doesn’t rely on them much at all. The characters that those actresses play add to the appeal of the show for me. In fact, I know many people who only watch the show when they know that the old schoolers will appear on the show. In any event, I’ll miss Dustin Milligan but I’m sure he’ll find new work elsewhere. I was able to preview the new ep that airs tonight and I noticed significant changes to the tone of the show. Will it work in the long run … I guess we’ll find out. What do y’all think … do any of you watch the show regularly? If so, what do you make of these changes?

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Here are a few kinda but not really spoilery photos from the SoCal set of The CW set of 90210 of Jessica Stroup (who plays Erin Silver) and Dustin Milligan (who plays Ethan Ward) on the BH, 90210 spin-off filming new scenes for an upcoming ep of the show. I’m gonna go out on a limb and take a wild guess that, judging by the outfits that these two are wearing, 90210 is gearing up for a big prom night episode … behold:

If you’ve been watching 90210 this season, you should know by now (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU’VE NOT BEEN KEEPING UP) that Silver has turned all psycho stalker on boyfriend Dixon Wilson. Her erratic behavior reminds me of the character of Emily Valentine from the original Beverly Hills, 90210 who grew obsessed with Brandon Walsh and, out of desperation for him after he dumped her, set fire to the homecoming float that was parked in the Walsh driveway. HMMM … might Silver be headed for a similar storyline on the new series? Prom eps of high school dramas tend to be special affairs where something or other happens to the main characters. As you may recall, Brenda Walsh lost her virginity to Dylan McKay at her prom on the original series … but with all the sex that Silver and Dixon have been having all over the place, I don’t think we need to worry about that happening this time around. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what drama lies in store for the gang at West Beverly High this time around. I hope they make it good. Considering the drama that was brought by the original series, this show’s got some pretty big shoes to fill.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

90210’s new generation “Dylan McKay” — Dustin Milligan who plays lacrosse heartthrob Ethan Ward — is featured in an older issue of V magazine showing off his bare chest for no reason at all … not that anyone is complaining, mind you … behold:

This particular issue of V magazine appears to be a wee bit old … I believe it was published before 90210 debuted last Fall since the accompanying blurb contains erroneous information about one of the characters on the show (refers to “queen bee” Naomi Clark as Naomi Bennett and ends with the reminder that “90210 begins airing on The CW in September 2008″). In any event, it’s a shame that we missed seeing this photo the first time around. We’ve been seeing a lot of the 90210 girls in various magazines but nary a sight of the 90210 lads has been had. I say, more shirtless Dustin! Also, more dudes on the show!

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A few castmembers from the new CW series 90210 made their way out to the Kitson boutique in West Hollywood, CA last night for the red carpet launch of a new line of t-shirts that promote the show. Back in the early ’90’s, Beverly Hills, 90210 spawned a crush of merchandising options (from frisbees to dolls to perfume) and it looks like the new gang at West Beverly High are trying to get in on that action with a new line of stuff of their own. Here are a few pics from the red carpet arrivals at last night’s in-store launch event at Kitson:

I don’t personally think that the new batch of 90210 stuff is gonna be as popular as their predecessor’s merchandise but I can’t blame them for striking while the iron is hot. I think they might want to come up with better shirt slogans than Lacrosse Players Do It Better but the Team Silver and Team Naomi shirts are cute, if not inventive. If YOU are interested in procuring these 90210-themed t-shirts you can pop in to Kitson on Robertson Blvd. or order them online HERE. Never fear old skoolers, they’ve got a couple faux vintage BH, 90210 designs as well.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Bauer-Griffin]

HMMM … it appears that a couple of 90210 co-stars have begun a romantic relationship off set and have been found out as a result of being caught in engaging in the walk of shame. Co-stars Jessica Stroup and Dustin Milligan (who play Erin Silver and Ethan Ward respectively on 90210) appear to be in a pretty serious relationship … and these smoochy pics are the proof:

To set the scene, Dustin was snapped leaving Jessica’s place mid-afternoon this week after he enjoyed a little sleep-over at her place the night before. The couple swapped spit passionately before they had to part ways. Now, I’m sure it’s entirely possible that the couple sat up all night long braiding one another’s hair, baking cookies or some other such innocent activity but, more than likely, the two of them were bumpin’ uglies until the wee hours of the morning. In any event, it seems very likely that the two are romantically involved. Hey, if Blake Lively and Penn Badgley can have a real-life romance off the set of Gossip Girl then why can’t these two hormonal youngsters? I think it’s great that they’re found love on the set of 90210 … surely, they’re meant to stay together — forever.

[Source via ONTD!]

Beverly Hills, 90210 alums Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth joined the new crop of 90210 kids at a premiere event in Malibu, CA for the new CW spin-off which is set to debut on 09.02. It’s almost time y’all … we’re just days away from finding out if the new 90210 can live up to the hype and expectation of the stunning success of its predecessor … but for now, it’s just time to party. Here are a few pics from the event’s red carpet event last night:

Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth joined the cast of CW’s 90210 spin-off Saturday at a beachside bash to celebrate the show. The party took place on the Malibu shore – about 20 miles away from the Beverly Hills zip code, the AP reports. Doherty and Garth, who will reprise their roles as Brenda Walsh and Kelly Taylor in the new show, arrived separately. Joe E. Tata, who played Peach Pit owner Nat, also attended. Party guests expecting to get a glimpse of the show’s first episode were out of luck: The premiere was not screened. (The CW recently announced pre-broadcast copies of the series would not be distributed to TV reviewers and reporters as a “strategic marketing decision.”) Meanwhile, Garth recently said reuniting with Doherty (with whom she once got into a fistfight) wasn’t “as bad as I thought it would be. We’re both grown women, both professionals,” she told TV Guide. “Once we were working, it felt like a good fit.”

Tori Spelling, who continues to get the shaft from the new 90210 was, obvs, not in attendance at last night’s affair. Again, I’m excited at the prospect of the new show but I fear that expectations may be too high. I understand why the show’s producers are keeping the first ep under wraps until the series premieres next week but … I dunno, can it really live up to the hype? There are a lot of fond memories about the original show … I dunno if anything can really measure up.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

As September 02 draws evernear (get it? 90210 premieres on 09.02 … well, 08 cuz 10 would take too long) the hype and anticipation for the new 90210 series on The CW also grows evermore … and to fan the flames of that anticipation just a bit, here are a whole slew of new promo pics of the principal cast of characters moving into Beverly Hills, 90210 this Fall:

After the jump, check out individual cast photos of the 90210 kids and 3 of the adults (tho, none of the “special guest star” Beverly Hills, 90210 alums) …

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