Shannen Doherty is paying a sweet small screen tribute to Luke Perry.
In honor of her longtime friend and onscreen love interest, the 90210 star is joining the cast of Riverdale!
The announcement of Doherty’s casting was made Sunday at Comic-Con in San Diego, but had actually been in the works long before Perry’s untimely passing on March 4 of a massive stroke.
Related: Inside Luke Perry’s Final Scene In ‘Riverdale’
Per Variety, the show’s creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa shared during the Riverdale panel the season four tribute will “reflect Perry’s enduring legacy and the indelible imprint his character” Fred Andrews had on the series, noting the Charmed star’s cameo is “very emotional” and “something that Luke wanted since season one.”
Aguirre-Sacasa continued:
“They were such good friends, and when we were putting together this tribute episode, we wanted to make it as special as possible, and so we asked Shannen to do a pivotal, super-emotional role. She read the script and immediately said, ‘Yes.’ It’s very impactful.”
On Sunday, Miss Brenda Walsh herself confirmed the announcement via Instagram, writing of her late costar:
“I am deeply honored to pay tribute to Luke on Riverdale. The care in which this show takes in honoring his memory is beautiful. He is missed. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.”
So beautifully said, Shannen!
https://giphy.com/gifs/love-kiss-couple-nU5W5E0TKpJBu
Luke is also getting a tribute in the much-anticipated Beverly Hills 90210 reboot, BH90210, airing August 7 on Fox.
The original series’ core cast — Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Gabrielle Carteris, Tori Spelling, and Doherty — will portray hilarious versions of themselves inspired by their real lives as they come together for a reunion.
While attending Comic-Con on Friday, Ziering explained to ET the premise of BH90210:
“We left ourselves vulnerable. We’re going to dive into some of the personal issues that we, as a cast, have dealt with in our own lives. But it’s not going to be on the nose, it’ll be kind of on the cheek.”
He continued, sharing how they plan to play tribute to their late friend:
“That’s very challenging. It’s a personal thing. We all were very close to him. Luke was a best friend to me, not just when we were on 90210 but even before that. I knew him from when we were doing soap operas in Los Angeles. So it continues to be challenging and it’s always very difficult, but we will find a way to do it right.”
We’re looking forward to seeing how Riverdale and BH90210 honor Luke… and we’ll definitely have the tissues ready!
[Image via Shannen Doherty/Instagram.]
