Heather Locklear became the face of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” spinoff, “Melrose Place,” after joining the cast during the show’s second season.
Now, more than 30 years later, Locklear’s famous co-stars open up about how she saved the series from cancelation.
Heather Locklear Saved ‘Melrose Place’
“Melrose Place” — which premiered on Fox on July 8, 1992 — followed the lives of a group of friends who lived in the same apartment complex in West Hollywood, California. While its counterpart, “Beverly Hills, 90210,” followed the lives and drama of high school-aged teenagers, “Melrose Place” focused on young professionals in Los Angeles.
The series ran for seven seasons before coming to an end in 1999.
Despite its apparent success, Courtney Thorne-Smith, who played Alison Parker, revealed the show was on the verge of being canceled after its first seaosn.
“Heather’s too humble to say it, but we were in a lot of danger of being canceled until she came on,” she told People in an interview published on Wednesday, April 22. “And that’s when we became a hit.”
Locklear — who claimed not to “know that” about the series — was billed as a recurring guest star throughout the show’s first season, before landing a series regular role beginning in season 2.
Daphne Zuniga, who played Jo Reynolds from seasons 1 through 4, added, “Whenever Courtney brings that up, Heather’s like, ‘I didn’t know you were going to get canceled.’ Come on.”
According to the “Spin City” actress, she didn’t sign on with the intention of “saving” the show.
“I just wanted a job,” she admitted.
“You could see the writers figure it out. They were like, ‘Oh, we have something here.’ That was the turn that got more interesting for everybody, us included; it got more fun,” Thorne-Smith recalled.
‘Melrose Place’ Stars Didn’t Know the Show Was a Success
The group of former co-stars, including Vanessa Estelle Williams, Josie Bissett, and Laura Leighton, explained that before social media, it was difficult to gauge how the audience was responding to the show.
“We didn’t know because we were working 14-hour days,” Zuniga explained.
Locklear added, “I think once we did the Rolling Stone cover, I went, ‘This is awesome.'”
The issue, which was released May 19, 1994, featured all five women in white sleeveless tops and the words “Melrose Place’s Bod Squad” plastered across the cover.
Heather Locklear’s Career Post-‘Melrose Place’
Prior to joining the Darren Star and Aaron Spelling production, Locklear was already a big name in Hollywood.
Locklear first worked with Spelling after being cast in “Dynasty” in the early 1980s. She later landed a role in Spelling’s “T. J. Hooker” and starred in both at the same time.
“I’d be in my police uniform, padded bra, all that [expletive], and then I’d have to be all glammed up, and they’d drive me to the Dynasty set, and so it kind of went back and forth…I just had two jobs!” she explained during a panel at 90s con in 2024, per Remind Magazine.
During her time on “Melrose Place,” she would simultaneously work on films like “Texas Justice,” “Wayne’s World 2,” and “Money Talks.”
Locklear would later land a starring role in the fourth season of “Spin City,” alongside Michael J. Fox. Fox was later replaced by Charlie Sheen after his Parkinson’s Diagnosis.
