The Melrose Place Reboot Can Finally Do Right By 1 Trailblazing Character

The upcoming Melrose Place reboot could be the perfect place for the show to finally do right by one major character. The Fox primetime soap opera began as a spinoff of the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 but quickly became iconic in its own right, running for seven seasons and launching the spinoff Models Inc., though that show only lasted one season. Melrose was previously rebooted on The CW the year after the network made a hit out of their 2008 90210 reboot.

A new reboot of the 1990s show is currently in development with Insatiable creator Lauren Gussis at the helm. It has already been announced that stars Heather Locklear, Laura Leighton, and Daphne Zuniga are set to appear, reprising their original roles as Amanda Woodward, Sydney Andrews, and Jo Reynolds. While original Melrose Place star Andrew Shue likely won’t return, as he largely stepped away from acting after the show went off the air in 1999, there is an opportunity for many other original characters to join the returning trio, though one in particular deserves a storyline.

Doug Savant’s Matt Fielding Deserved Better From Melrose Place

Melrose Place Rarely Let Matt Flourish As An LGBTQ+ Character

One major character who deserves to be served properly by the reboot is Doug Savant’s Matt Fielding. Matt, a gay man who was part of the main cast of Melrose Place for the first five seasons, was one of the earliest examples of an LGBTQ+ character being featured prominently as a lead on a primetime drama. However, he was frequently given short shrift compared to his straight counterparts on the Fox show. For instance, although the steamy series featured love scenes for essentially every other major character, the season 2 scene where Matt kisses another man was cut before broadcast.

In addition to 17 of Savant’s 159 credited episodes not featuring Matt onscreen at all, Melrose Place frequently deprioritized his storylines. While later seasons would give him several major love interests and he was featured in storylines addressing hot-button issues such as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, HIV, and workplace discrimination, he was frequently used as a supporting character in other leads’ storylines. That, combined with the show’s reluctance to showcase any romantic intimacy and Matt’s unceremonious death when Savant left the show, underserved the character and his lived experience as an out LGBTQ+ person.

The Melrose Place Reboot Can Finally Do Right By Matt’s Character

Network Television Has Changed Since Melrose Place Originally Aired

The newest show in the universe of the Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff finally has the opportunity to change the way it handles LGBTQ+ storylines. It can honor Matt’s legacy by including more trailblazing LGBTQ+ characters with robust lives and who are also performed by LGBTQ+ actors. This would be entirely possible, as the social mores around network television depicting characters on the LGBTQ+ spectrum have changed substantially since Savant left Melrose Place in 1997, though discrimination against trans and nonbinary people especially remains a hot-button issue in modern politics.

The show is currently being developed without the involvement of a specific network or streamer, but even if it returns to Fox, it has the opportunity to push its representation of LGBTQ+ stories much further. That network is responsible for bringing the show Glee and its iconic couplings of Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Brittany, and more to the screen. However, LGBTQ+ representation on television across the board has increased since the 1990s (though there is still substantial room for improvement both in quality and quantity), so nearly any home the show finds could further this legacy.

Can Matt Return In The Upcoming Reboot? It Wouldn’t Be The Show’s 1st Death Retcon

Dr. Kimberly Shaw Could Pave The Way For More Matt Fielding

It remains to be seen what other original stars return for the Melrose Place reboot alongside Zuniga, Leighton, and Locklear. Even though Matt died over the course of the show’s original run, it is possible for the iconic character to return and be part of that roster. The over-the-top storylines of the show have already allowed for a similar circumstance. After seemingly dying in a car wreck in season 2, Marcia Cross’ Dr. Kimberly Shaw returned to wreak havoc after a hiatus of just 14 episodes.

Savant also has an in for the new Melrose Place show that goes beyond being part of the original cast. In real life, he married Leighton in 1998, so it is possible that he will be asked to shoot a cameo while he’s visiting his wife, who is also an executive producer on the show. However, even if Matt Fielding doesn’t return to the reboot, it has a chance to redeem itself by featuring strong LGBTQ+ characters who further the trailblazing spirit of Matt Fielding’s inclusion on the original hit show in the first place.