Grosse Pointe

Grosse Pointe was created by Darren Star as a satire of behind-the-scenes drama on a TV show set, largely inspired by his own experiences as creator and producer of Beverly Hills, 90210.

In a DVD audio commentary for the pilot, Star explained that the real-life antics on the set of 90210 were often more interesting than the show itself, and the idea of a comedy based on this had been in his mind for years.

Several main characters were thinly veiled parodies of real 90210 actors and their characters, such as Hunter Fallow spoofing Shannen Doherty/Brenda Walsh and Johnny Bishop spoofing Jason Priestley/Brandon Walsh.

Reportedly, Beverly Hills 90210 producer Aaron Spelling called WB executive Jamie Kellner to complain that Lindsay Sloane's character Marcy Sternfeld was, in the original pilot, a thinly veiled parody of his daughter, actress Tori Spelling.

Darren Star invited several actors from Spelling-produced shows to make guest appearances, including Jason Priestley and Joe E. Tata from Beverly Hills, 90210, and Kristin Davis from Melrose Place; Priestley also directed the episode he appeared in.

Actresses from other WB shows appeared as themselves, including Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope of Popular and Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while former Saved by the Bell star Elizabeth Berkley appeared in the series finale.

Despite largely positive reviews, including being the only WB comedy to receive an 'A' grade from Entertainment Weekly, the show struggled with low ratings and typically lost about one million viewers from its lead-in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

The DVD release was delayed multiple times, eventually shipping as an Amazon.com exclusive in late November 2006 before a wider release in February 2007, and the opening titles with the Tom Jones song 'Sex Bomb' only appear once per disc because using it in every episode was deemed too expensive.