“Melrose Place” was a hit 90s show full of drama, love triangles, and shocking twists. Set in a stylish LA apartment complex, it quickly became a must-watch after spinning off from Beverly Hills, 90210. The show’s mix of romance, betrayals, and stunning cast members kept audiences hooked, especially with Heather Locklear’s unforgettable role.
Locklear portrayed Amanda Woodward in Melrose Place, earning four Golden Globe nominations for her role. Her character’s scheming ways kept viewers hooked, tuning in every week to see what wild twist might come next. From baby kidnappings to apartment explosions and countless affairs, Amanda’s antics were central to the drama that made the nighttime soap opera a sensation.
The first season of Melrose Place didn’t exactly take off. Heather Locklear later admitted in a 2009 interview that it was “very boring” because it featured too many “nice” characters. To fix this, Aaron Spelling brought Locklear on board as Amanda Woodward, a scheming ad executive. Her character brought the drama the show needed, and soon the ratings soared.
It is just one of many secrets about the movie that viewers have no idea. If you want to see more, scroll down.
#1. The real Melrose Place wasn’t shown in the TV series.
The real Melrose Place apartment building wasn’t actually filmed on the street it’s named after. Instead, exterior shots of the apartment complex were taken at El Pueblo Apartments, located at 4616 Greenwood Place in Los Angeles’s Los Feliz neighborhood.
For those looking to visit the real Melrose Place, you’ll find it near the intersection of Melrose Place and La Cienega Boulevard. While it’s a trendy shopping area now, you won’t find any residential buildings or dramatic scenes like in the show.
#2. Josie Bissett disliked playing the “nice” character.
Josie Bissett, who portrayed the kind-hearted Jane Mancini on Melrose Place, grew tired of always playing the victim.
“I do get tired of playing a victim all the time on the show,” she expressed her frustration in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I mean, enough already. People call for me on the street and tell me everything that I’m doing wrong. In real life, I learn from my mistakes, and Jane is just not learning. But look out, because she will very soon.”
Melrose Place creator Darren Star recalled that Bissett asked to do something more devious instead of being the perpetual nice girl. By season three, Jane’s character had taken a darker turn, reflecting how nearly every character on the show began revealing a more villainous side.
#3. Many cast members had real-life romantic relationships with each other.
During the first season of Melrose Place, Courtney Thorne-Smith (Allison Parker) dated Andrew Shue, and later in the series, she had a relationship with Grant Show. According to writer/producer Charles Pratt Jr., Thorne-Smith’s relationship with Show may have influenced her decision to leave the show.
Meanwhile, Laura Leighton, who also dated Show, eventually married Doug Savant in 1998 after they connected on set. While some romances flourished, others didn’t fare as well—Josie Bissett and Rob Estes, who were newlyweds when the show began, ended up divorcing, and Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner called off their engagement.
This behind-the-scenes drama mirrored the relationship turmoil on-screen, making Melrose Place a hotspot not only for scripted drama but also for real-life romances.
#4. Matt Fielding was one of the first gay characters on network TV, but his romance was toned down.
In the early ’90s, Melrose Place was notable for featuring a gay character, Matt, played by Doug Savant. At that time, it was a bold move, as it wouldn’t be until 1997 that Ellen DeGeneres came out publicly on her own show.
However, Matt’s storylines faced limitations; for instance, when he wanted to share intimate moments with his boyfriend, network standards were strict. The show’s writers often had to creatively work around these restrictions, leading to awkward situations like having the characters only touch or be shown from a distance.
Doug Savant, who played the role of Matt, preferred to keep his private life out of the media spotlight. “There are other straight actors who have played gay characters and then shouted their straightness to the media at every chance,” he told Rolling Stone. “I think that’s disgraceful. I have the responsibility to play the common humanity that crosses boundaries of sexuality.”
#5. Stephen Fanning was initially cast to play Billy.
In a Lifetime documentary, it was revealed that actor Stephen Dale, known as Stephen Fanning in real life, was cast as Billy but was let go after gaining weight. During a 2012 ABC reunion special, actress Elisabeth Shue explained that the decision was made because Fanning lacked the right chemistry with her character, Allison. Shue noted that no one informed Fanning about his dismissal; he arrived on set to find Andrew Shue in his dressing room instead. She humorously said, “I feel that I need to personally apologize.”
#6. Vanessa Williams believes she was fired because the writers weren’t prepared to write for a Black character.
Williams portrayed Rhonda Blair, a dancer and aerobics instructor, in the first season of Melrose Place, but she didn’t return for the second season. She expressed that the show didn’t seem to make an effort to write for a Black character, either by hiring a Black writer or consulting her.
According to Williams, the show’s direction shifted to focus more on soap-opera themes and heightened sexual content, which made it challenging for her character to fit in. While it was disappointing for her not to be invited back, she felt it was not a reflection of her performance, so she had to let it go.
#7. Amy Locane was also only in the show for one season.
Amy Locane, who played Sandy Harling, was Williams’s roommate on the show but appeared for just one season. In 2010, she was involved in a tragic accident that resulted in the death of a 60-year-old woman when she drove while intoxicated. After being convicted of vehicular homicide in 2013, Locane received a three-year prison sentence. She was released early in 2015.
#8. Grant Show turned down a role that went to Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise.
Thelma & Louise premiered in 1991 and helped launch Brad Pitt‘s career. Grant Show shared with The New York Times that he was offered the role in the film but had to turn it down because of a commitment to a Jackie Collins mini-series. Although he believes Pitt did a great job, he regrets not breaking his contract.
He said, “what I’ve learned is, back then I didn’t realize that the game is played by my own morality and not theirs. If there is one thing I wish I could tell that young actor, it would be to walk off that set and say, ‘Sue me.’”
#9. Andrew Shue thinks people loved the show because it led to parties after each episode.
The original cast of Melrose Place, except for Williams and Locane, got together on ABC in 2012 to look back on their dramatic moments. In 2010, Shue married Amy Robach, a Good Morning America anchor, who interviewed him and the rest of the cast.
When asked why fans loved the show so much, Shue said, “We weren’t catty, there were no divas. It really was a family.” He added that the show was special because it brought people together for weekly viewing parties, something that has changed with today’s digital age, where everyone’s on their devices.
#10. The season three finale was edited a lot due to the Oklahoma City bombing.
In the thrilling finale of season three of The Big Bang Theory, the character Kimberly, played by Marcia Cross, is about to blow up Melrose Place, but just as the action intensifies, the screen cuts to “to be continued.”
This episode aired a month after the Oklahoma City bombing, which influenced its storyline. Originally, the finale was set to end with the explosion and a dramatic scene where Kimberly flies through the air, while Amanda falls down the stairs, and the courtyard erupts. Fans had to wait until the fourth season premiere in September to see how it unfolded and learn that none of the main characters died, although Allison temporarily went blind.
Cross later expressed mixed feelings about the violent plotline, noting, “I felt guilty in a way, as if I were perpetuating violence,” but she also acknowledged that most viewers could tell the difference between their fictional story and real-world events.
Initially, the plan was for Kimberly to kidnap Sydney and crash a plane into the courtyard, but after a plane was used as a weapon in a 1994 incident near the White House, the producers opted for a different approach.
#11. Melrose Place ended because the cast had outgrown their living situations.
Carol Mendelsohn shared her thoughts with Vulture, recalling the surprise that some characters, who had achieved success and wealth after seven years, still lived in their small apartment. She noted how this situation often came up in the writers’ room, raising questions like, “Why haven’t they moved?”
Dee Johnson, another writer and producer for Melrose Place, added that it was hard to overlook Amanda’s substantial income and wonder why she chose to stay in such a tiny space. Eventually, they realized it was a topic that couldn’t be ignored.
#12. Malcolm Gladwell was a big fan of the show.
In a January 2016 interview with Bill Simmons on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Gladwell, a writer for The New Yorker, shared his fondness for Melrose Place.
“I used to do an email synopsis of every episode of Melrose Place,” he said. “I had a list of, like, a 100 people that I’d send it out to. And why did I do that? Because I was absolutely sure that everyone I knew—all of us in our 20s or early 30s—was watching MP.
He pointed out that no current show gives him that same level of certainty about its popularity. Gladwell mentioned he used to dedicate two hours of his workday to write these newsletters but wouldn’t spend that time on a network show today.
#13. People paid a lot for pool water from Melrose Place.
Before the series finale of Melrose Place, Fox sent out snow globes containing water from the show’s pool to journalists. Some of these globes ended up selling for as much as $300 on eBay. Additionally, Amazon auctioned off various Melrose Place memorabilia, like Amanda’s headboard and Sydney’s wedding dress.
Grant Show realized the show would be successful when he saw the real pool on set. He mentioned in Rolling Stone, “The minute I walked on the set and saw that they’d built a real pool in here, I had the feeling we’d be around for a while. Forget about actors, man; pools aren’t cheap.”
#14. Andrew Shue stopped acting and became a successful businessman.
In 2008, Shue co-founded CafeMedia, now known as Raptive. The platform included well-known sites like CafeMom, The Stir, and MamásLatinas. His vision was to create a company that acknowledges and honors the everyday contributions of moms, as highlighted in his earlier bio on the CafeMedia website.
#15. In 2009, Fox tried to reboot the series, but it didn’t succeed.
Thomas Calabro is notable for his role as Dr. Michael Mancini in Melrose Place, appearing in more episodes than any other cast member—219 out of a total of 226. He was also among the few original actors to return for the reboot. In an interview with SheKnows, Calabro explained his reasons for reprising his role.
“First of all, he had a nuclear family, which I had never ever played before. He had a twenty something-year-old son, which I had never had… He was going to be intertwined in many of the main characters’ storylines. So that became really interesting to me. There was a whole new dynamic.”
Even though the reboot was short-lived, it featured appearances from original stars like Laura Leighton, Heather Locklear, Josie Bissett, and Daphne Zuniga.
