Melrose Place
Interviews

In case you haven't been online or watching any TV over the last few weeks, this just in:

Heather Locklear is returning to Melrose Place! The actress reprises her iconic role of Amanda Woodward on Tuesday night's episode. We'll cover the installment in full, as always.

Leading up to her (re)debut, Locklear spoke to Zap2It about a number of show-related topics. Excerpts from the interview follow...

On the use of original series regulars: I ran into Laura [Leighton, who plays Sydney] at my first table read for this, and we hugged for so long, It was also nice to see Thomas [Calabro] and for us to have our own little group. Then it really did feel like Melrose Place to me.

On first impressions of the show: When I saw the pilot episode, I thought, "Ooohh, this is slick!'' Like they had said, it wasn't the old "Melrose Place.'' Then I saw episode two, which I really loved.

On the new Amanda: [Producers] said she didn't want to be on an island any more, and she's ready for action. She's now got a boyfriend who has a lot of money, and something's going down with her company, so she has to come back and fix it.

It's official: Nick Zano is moving in to Melrose Place.

The actor, most recently seen on Cougar Town, will portray a doctor at the hospital at which Lauren and Michael work. He recently spoke to Michael Ausiello about joining The CW drama. A few excerpts:

On his character: He moves into the building and works at the local hospital. He’s a person who enjoys life. He lives every day to [its fullest]... I just literally walked out of a meeting with [exec producers] Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin. They were very specific about how they’re going to change the direction of the show. In TV, you usually don’t get a chance to fix anything.

It’s always easier to cancel something than fix it. And The CW clearly has a passion for the show, because it’s still on the air. And all of these people are making a very concentrated effort to improve the show and I’m happy to be a part of it.

On what his character is hiding: It’s Melrose Place. Everybody has a secret. That’s all you’re getting out of me, man.

No word yet on when Zano will debut. But Colin Egglesfield departs the show in January.

We hope you're excited about Heather Locklear's return to Melrose Place, fans.

Because The CW plans on featuring a great deal of Amanda Woodward soon after she re-debuts on November 17.

According to Jessica Lucas (Riley), the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 is pretty much all Locklear, all the time.

"The back nine will be focusing on Heather. There is some kind of mystery there between her and Sydney, so Laura Leighton may be staying on in some form," Lucas said to E! News.

As for the supposedly spoiled murder mystery - due to her firing, it seems clear Ashlee Simpson-Wentz's Violet was involved in Sydney's death - Lucas says viewers will still be surprised to see what went down.

"Episode 12 is the whole wrap of the murder mystery, so something really shocking happens in the pool. It ties in with the murder mystery, but it's something completely unexpected."

As most Melrose Place fans know by now, Colin Egglesfield and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz have been let go. They'll exit the series in January.

Fan reaction to this news seems to be mixed. As for the actors' co-stars?

"[Colin is] one of my best friends so I'm extremely sad to see him go," Stephanie Jacobsen, who plays Lauren Yung, told E! News. "But he's a trouper... He was consoling me today. He said, 'Steph, it's just the business.'"

Jacobsen added that the "cast is very close," and that didn't change with the addition of Heather Locklear.

"She's incredibly easy to talk to. You wouldn't imagine it because she's 'Heather Locklear'—I mean, she's kind of a big deal - but yet she's one of the loveliest people and so laid back."

Locklear debuts (again) on Melrose Place on November 17.

Her acting has been criticized since her first scene on Melrose Place, but it still came as a surprise when Ashlee Simpson-Wentz was let go from the show this week.

Still, we've gotta give the "actress" credit for her classy response to the news. In a statement to E! News, Simpson-Wentz wrote:

"Having the chance to play Violet on Melrose Place has been a thrill. Although I always knew her story would come to a final, insanely unpredictable end, playing a creepy, unstable character was something I always wanted to do, so I jumped at the chance. Thanks to the CW and the entire cast and crew of Melrose Place for allowing me this opportunity!"

Upon announcing that they were letting Colin Egglesfield (and co-star Ashlee Simpson-Wentz) go from Melrose Place, producers said the plan all along was to only feature the characters on the first few episodes.

That's new to the actor, however.

In his first interview since news of his dismissal spread, Egglesfield said he had a multi-year contract and: "The ratings aren't what they need or want them to be, so they're going to try things to shake things up."

Speaking to E! News, here are more excerpts from Egglesfield, as he tries to explain what took him from new primetime star to out-of-work actor in just a couple weeks...

On learning he was fired: I got the call this morning from our producers, Todd [Slavkin] and Darren [Swimmer]. They were really saddened, and you could tell it was difficult for them to break this news to me. They said it was a network decision, and they said the network thought Auggie was a little too dark, with his alcoholism. They felt like in the landscape of Melrose they wanted to change the tone of the show.

On his reaction: It's kind of crazy. It's like, How?! Why?! I'm not spending too much time thinking about it, because it'll just drive you crazy, if you try to figure something out that you're never going to figure out. I'm just focusing on [other stuff]. I've already got a bunch of auditions lined up.

Continue Reading...

Tonight's new episode of Melrose Place is all about Jessica Lucas' Riley.

Agreeing to be a model, in order to help support her and her financially-challeged fiance Jonah, Riley falls under the direction of former cast member Daphne Zuniga, who reprises her role as Jo Reynolds.

As a clip from the show has revealed, viewers may be seeing more of Riley than ever before this week... literally!

Meanwhile, in an interview with TV Guide, Lucas speaks on what's to come for her character and for the show in general. A few excerpts:

On Riley hanging out with Jo: It's a coincidence. She's the photographer for the [Anton V.] shoot. Riley is actually a huge fan of hers because she took pictures of Darfur that Riley studied at NYU. They have a weird connection in that way.

On Riley's future as a model: Her one experience with it leaves a horrible taste in her mouth. I do think, though, that it's a great thing for the character in the sense that she really stands up for herself. From then on, she becomes a bit stronger, which is good because she and Jonah are dealing with a lot of relationship issues.

On Riley and Jonah's inevitable break-up: They are kind of headed down that path. He finds out about the whole Auggie thing. He meets someone else. It's a rocky road for them. I mean, they really do try to work through it, but I really don't know how long that's going to be able to go on. It's sad.

Someone will soon be killed on Melrose Place.

Who will join Sydney in the giant apartment complex in the sky? Star Katie Cassidy (Ella) isn't telling, but she did say to E! News:

"I think everyone's going to be surprised. [The death] is a shocker, but at the same time, it's really good."

Meanwhile, Heather Locklear returns to the series on November 17. Her character of Amanda Woodward will be involved in some great scenes with Ella, as Cassidy teases:

"Heather is amazing. I've had so much fun working with her. She's a really cool chick and it's been really great to work with her. I'm happy she came on the show."

Amanda will fire Ella's boss, Caleb, when she first arrives. How will this affect her working relationship with Cassidy's character?

"I think Ella looks up to Amanda and ultimately wants to be her, but she isn't; Ella's her own character, Ella's different. That said, with Amanda being the boss of the whole company, Ella would like to be in her shoes at some point."

As everyone knows by now, Heather Locklear is returning to Melrose Place on November 17.

But one question has remained unanswered - how will the show explain Amanda Woodward's absense? - until now.

In the 1999 series finale of the original series, Amanda and boyfriend Peter Burns faked their deaths and relocated to a tropical island.

"Michael Mancini was paid a million dollars to provide the cadavers, so Michael clearly has some experience at this whole faking death thing, which we of course have fun with," producer Todd Slavkin told TV Guide Magazine.

Slavkin added that Amanda has now grown tired of the island, along with Peter.

"She's not a gal to sit on a beach watching the waves crash," he said. "It was only a matter of time before she got bored. This is a woman who wants to be in the center of the action."

And that will certainly be the case when Amanda becomes Ella's boss at a PR firm. Teases Slavkin: "She arrives with a big agenda."

The producer also said Melrose Place is casting for a name actor to portray Amanda's new love interest. Got any suggestions?

The last scene of this week's Melrose Place episode featured Jane Andrews alerting the police to Ella's possible involvement in Sydney's murder.

So, this must mean Josie Bissett will remain on the show for the immediate future, right? Wrong.

Speaking to Michael Ausiello, the actress seemed miffed about her next appearance on the show, or lackthereof.

“I don’t understand their plans with some of us. My feeling is they’re bringing us in to get the show started. Which is great... I guess the key is they want the young cast to take over and take over the show and not count on the old cast," Bissett said. "We’re obviously drawing in a different audience. For me I guess it’s just going to be show by show. I’m kind of in the dark."

Do you wanna see more of Josie Bissett on the new Melrose Place?

Meanwhile, in other alumni casting news:

Heather Lockler sat for her first table as Amanda Woodward this week; and co-star Shaun Sipos couldn't say enough pleasant things about the star, who returns on November 17.

"She spent so much time with that character that she must know her in and out. It must not be too big of a memory jog because she spent 10years with that character. She's gonna rock it again."