Yeah, yeah, I rolled my eyes a little too when I heard Lori Loughlin had been cast as the mom [1] in the 90210 spinoff [2]. But today's spate of casting news has me feeling much, much better about this little project. Witness the following:

• Canadian cutie Shenae Grimes will play the lead teen, Annie Mills [3], an emo drama nerd trying to make it big with the cool crowd. OK, so that might not mean anything to you . . . unless you're a big fan of Degrassi: The Next Generation [4]. Her character, Darcy, was stalked online, drugged at a party, and involved with breaking another cheerleader's leg on purpose, so she should be well prepared for the craziness of Beverly Hills. (Also, this was the role the producers were reportedly hoping Hilary Duff would take — so, whether this is good or bad news might depend on your feelings about Hilary Duff.)
• Jessica Walter, aka Lucille Bluth, will play family matriarch Tabitha Mills [5], the alcoholic ex-actress who was linked to Warren Beatty in her heyday. She's the impetus for bringing her son, Harry, and his wife (Celia, Loughlin's character) back to 90210. See, I told you it was a good week for Arrested Development alumni [6].
• There aren't a lot of details about this last piece of news yet, but Ryan Eggold — whom I fell a little bit in love with as Farber Kaufman on Dirt [7] this season — has apparently also been cast. TV Guide describes his role just as "the teacher," [8] Ryan. But just knowing I have another place to catch Eggold is good enough for me.

Does any of this warm your heart toward the spinoff? Or are you still a skeptic?

Source [9] and Source [10]