'90210' Exclusive: Jason Priestley's Back...and He's Not Alone!

Beverly Hills’ original sideburned heartthrob is back! Sort of.

Jason Priestley has agreed to do an episode of The CW’s 90210 later this season, but you won’t see him — he’ll be behind the camera, working as a director. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Priestley will helm this season’s 18th episode, which is slated to air this spring.

Meanwhile, a 90210 insider also reveals that Priestley’s TV sis, Shannen Doherty, is nearing a deal to return for two more episodes later this season. Executive producer Gabe Sachs would only confirm that she’s “in talks,” but my 90210 spy insists “she’s coming back. The deal isn’t officially done, but it’s happening.”

Might one of Doherty’s two episodes be the Priestley-directed installment? Sachs says that’s TBD. “I think it would be a kick for Jason to work with any of his [former 90210 costars], and it would also add something special to that episode,” he says. “But we don’t know whether that will happen yet.”

A more likely scenario has Priestley bossing around his other leading lady, Jennie Garth, who’s back for at least six episodes — despite what the actress herself told me at EW’s pre-Emmy party last month. “That was a misunderstanding,” whispers a source.

For more on Priestley and Doherty’s comebacks, and to get the latest on efforts to lure Luke Perry and Tori Spelling back to the fold, pick up the new issue of EW, on sale this Friday. In the meantime, weigh in with your reaction to what’s shaping up to be quite the 90210 veteran logjam later this season.

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Sound bites from last night’s episode