Darren Star makes sociable television about people learning the rules of an unfamiliar circle. We like his knack for keeping an ensemble interesting, though his characters are better company when the writing stops telling them how to behave.
Fi1m perspective
The Walsh family arrive in Beverly Hills and have to learn how people behave there; in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), their uncertainty gives us a reason to pay attention. Star makes an unfamiliar social circle approachable by putting newcomers in it. Brandon and Brenda Walsh bring different temperaments to the same adjustment, so the family does not have to speak with one voice. It is an engaging way into an ensemble drama, and it shows what we value in his work: people whose reactions are worth following.
The series he created with Aaron Spelling is also too eager to be instructive. The writing sometimes explains how everyone should behave when the characters have already given us enough to think about. We enjoyed Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth's prickliness because it kept that earnestness from making the drama too agreeable. Their performances are a useful check on the urge to offer guidance. It is easier to stay interested when we are allowed to decide for ourselves who is being unreasonable.
That early interest in a group learning its social rules developed into the adult melodrama of Melrose Place (1992). Sex and the City (1998) followed, with Younger (2015) later bringing age, identity and publishing into his work. Emily in Paris (2020) extended that work internationally. Across these series, friends, relationships and careers recur, with fashion and urban settings getting considerable attention. Having several people to follow suits a writer interested in how a social circle works.
Star frequently writes and directs early episodes and maintains oversight as creator and showrunner. That makes the early choice of characters important, but it does not make every successful scene his achievement alone. Doherty and Garth remind us how much an ensemble needs actors who can make the characters difficult without making them tiresome. For a starting point, we recommend Beverly Hills, 90210, for the different temperaments it brings together and the interest it takes in them. Choose it for the soap; the guidance need not be followed.
Biography
Darren Star is an American writer, director and producer of film and television. He was born on 25 July 1961 in Potomac, Maryland, and studied English and creative writing at UCLA after attending Winston Churchill High School.
Star created the series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–2000), drawing on his own high school experiences, and served as writer and director on the show. He went on to create Melrose Place (1992–1999) and Sex and the City (1998–2004).
His later credits include creating Younger (2015–2021), Emily in Paris (2020–present) and Uncoupled (2022). Earlier film work includes the screenplay for If Looks Could Kill (1991).
