Series Overview
The series takes place in Los Angeles, on the set of a fictitious WB nighttime soap, also called Grosse Pointe, and several characters were based on real-life actors. The fictitious Grosse Pointe ("a misguided 90210 rip-off", as Star describes it) is set in the wealthy Michigan suburb, and was very much a parody of teenage nighttime soaps.
Reportedly, Beverly Hills 90210 producer Aaron Spelling called WB executive Jamie Kellner to complain about Lindsay Sloane's character Marcy Sternfeld, who in the original pilot was a thinly veiled parody of Spelling's daughter, actress Tori Spelling.
Darren Star asked several actors from Spelling Soaps to appear on the series. Jason Priestly and Joe E. Tata from Beverly Hills, 90210 appeared in separate episodes. Jason Priestly directed the episode that he appeared. Kristin Davis from Melrose Place and Sex in the City also appeared in an episode. Katie Wagner, who hosted a Beverly Hills, 90210 special in 1993, also appeared on the show as herself for one episode. Former Saved by the Bell teen star, Elizabeth Berkley, appeared in the series finale.
In addition, several actors from other WB series appeared as themselves on Grosse Pointe, such as Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope of Popular and Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Grosse Pointe was on the WB's Friday line-up in between Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Popular. The show lost much of the lead-in audience, and was moved to Sundays. (A joke in the episode "The Opposite of Sex" references this, as the fictional show garners its highest ratings ever but fails to "beat Sabrina.") It was canceled in March 2001 after 17 episodes.
Read more about this topic: Grosse Pointe (TV Series)
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