Listen up, 90210 fans: When the series premieres its fourth season this fall, don't expect things to fall apart now that the cast has graduated from West Beverly High.
In fact, 90210's new showrunners Patti Carr and Lara Olsen say the cast will make the college transition — but not in the way fans might think. "The aspect of college we're focusing on is the fun of it, the wish fulfillment, the things that kids look forward to," Carr tells TVGuide.com in a new interview.
What else can fans expect from the West Beverly gang? Read on for five spoilery can't-miss plot changes for 90210's fourth season.
1. Though the cast may be entering their college years, don't expect the entire gang to hit the books. "We didn't want to turn California University, or CU, into the new West Beverly," says Carr. "The kids don't all go to the same college — some aren't going to college at all. Our overall concept for the season is that when you graduate from high school you launch yourself into your new adult life. You go through a process of trying to figure out who you are, and ultimately, your friends are the people who know the real you and they become your family. That's our approach for everyone."
2. Trevor Donovan's Teddy may no longer be a series regular, but he's not gone and forgotten. "I know there is sort of a technical difference in Trevor's deal but he's a major character for us. We love Teddy and we've got a really great story line for him," Carr tells TVGuide.com. And a 'major character' means a major arc, if you ask Olsen. "He will be there for multiple episodes. The story line of Teddy being gay was handled so well last year, it was so much of a non-stereotype, that it was really important to us to keep writing for that character."
3. One key reason to tune into Sept. 13's premiere? Fans will find out how pregnant Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) and Max (Josh Zuckerman) fared during their summer break. While Carr plays coy when asked if the couple is still together, she does hint to TVGuide.com that all will be revealed in due time. "The situation that you saw at the end of Season 3 between Naomi and Max is something the two of them had to deal with immediately. In the process, it affected their relationship. When we come back to them, it's all about how they're now dealing with what they learned."
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4. As Naomi and Max deal with their relationship in season 4 so do Silver (Jessica Stroup) and Navid (Michael Steger). "They don't have an easy time," Carr says of the couple, who encounter unforeseen obstacles once they move in together. "It has nothing to do initially with either one of them," Olsen says, adding that a third-party comes between the lovebirds.
5. Can Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) mend her fractured friendship with Silver? Last season, when Silver started dating Adrianna's ex, Adrianna swapped out her BFF's bipolar medication with placebos in retaliation. This fall, say 90210's showrunners, Silver will be the first person Adrianna runs to in an attempt to save face. "[Adrianna] spent her summer trying to be a good person, going out into the world and trying to redeem herself and show what a changed person she is," Carr says. "She'll have to win the viewers over as well!"
90210 premieres September 13 at 8 p.m. (EST) on The CW.
By Allison Corneau for Us Weekly. For more Channel Surfing, click here.
