90210 aired a brand-new episode last night against election coverage. It was perhaps the funniest episode of the 90210 season. This wasn’t a random occurence. “Secrets and Lies” was the first episode overseen by new executive producer Rebecca Kirshner. In an interview with the LA Times, Kirshner stated that her first mandate for 90210 was that the series should be funnier. This is an easy thing to say, but much more difficult to implement. While the episode wasn’t OC-level funny, there was certainly more humor on display, which was a welcome new facet given some of the heavy drama being dropped on audiences last night.

Kirshner has a background on shows that expertly mixed comedy and drama, having worked on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls. If she can bring some of the magic of those series and transport it into 90210, fans are going to see a significant upturn in 90210’s quality. The series cannot simply be an update of the original Beverly Hills 90210. That show, with its constant and generally humorless melodrama, would not connect with the teenagers of today, who live firmly in the age of irony.

Speaking about last night’s slumber party episode, Kirshner said: “What I tried to do was encourage more humor. That was my first mandate for the show, in general. Humor and drama go together. In a slumber party, you go from hilarity to tears and back to giddiness in an hour and that’s sort of what life is like. On TV in general, they sort of divide drama from comedy. I try and find the interplay between the two, and I think this episode is a pretty good reflection of that.”

You can’t turn 90210 into The Office or 30 Rock, but it can go about their business in a way that Kirshner has described. And, the episode last night was a perfect example. There were some very heavy dramatic moments, but they were gently off-set by the humorous situation. I’ve enjoyed the first season of 90210, but also recognized that the series wasn’t close to realizing its full potential. With Kirshner on board, I’m more optimistic than ever that it eventually will.

source: BuddyTV

Tags: Beverly Hills 90210, Buffy Slayer, Buffy The Vampire, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Buffy Vampire, Comedy And Drama, Dramatic Moments, Election Coverage, Executive Producer, Giddiness, Gilmore Girls, Heavy Drama, Hilarity, Humor On, Humorous Situation, Interplay, La Times, Melodrama, Occurence, Secrets And Lies, Slumber Party, Upturn