Creator Backlash: Darren Star disliked Amanda's cancer storyline, stating "it wasn't much fun"; he and the writers knew what a sensitive topic cancer was and they felt they handled it poorly.
Executive Meddling: For all the sex and other elements that pushed the envelope on the show, Fox's main (and apparently only) concerns were with Matt and what they could not show, including the majority of physical contact between him and any lovers and a scene with him and his Marine boyfriend, Jeffrey, in bed together.
Fatal Method Acting: The stunt double for John Enos III (Bobby Parezi) died after his character's fatal fall out of a window.
He Also Did: Years before his breakout role as Dr. Peter Burns, Jack Wagner was also a One-Hit Wonder with the 1984 ballad "All I Need".
Hide Your Pregnancy: At the start of season 6, Heather Locklear was pregnant with her daughter, which wasn't included in the storyline. As a result, filming was moved forward with the show employing a body double used in numerous shots and Locklear's screentime being reduced (while her filming time increased up until she left the production to have her child). Meanwhile, both Lisa Rinna and Josie Bissett's pregnancies were incorporated into their respective storylines in the last two seasons of the series.
Around season four, tensions between cast members and producers were spiking. In particular, Daphne Zuniga was reportedly very unpopular with both the cast and crew and asked to be written out of the show before the season ended.
Also around this time and sometime after, many of the female costars were unhappy with the preferential treatment of Heather Locklear by both producers and the network (particularly with her increased salary over their own). This lead to the eventual resignations of both Laura Leighton (Sydney) and Courtney Thorne-Smith (Alison) who later resurfaced on fellow Fox shows Beverly Hills, 90210 and Ally McBeal, respectively.
In Memoriam: The season five finale was dedicated to show director Richard Lang, who died in April of 1997 at the age of 57.
The Other Darrin: Lowell, Brooke's one-time fiance, when he first appeared at the end of season three, was played by Patrick Fabian. When he returned in season four's "No Lifeguard On Duty", he is portrayed by Brian McGovern.
The Other Marty: Stephen Fanning was originally casted as Billy Campbell but was dropped from the show for gaining too much weight when filming started, and was quickly replaced with Andrew Shue. (Ironically, the Canadian-born Fanning saw his casting announced in the Vancouver Sun with the unfortunate headline "Vancouver actor wins TV role without having to starve in L.A.") According to Grant Show, Fanning wasn’t even told of his firing until he saw Shue in his dressing room early one morning during the pilot’s filming. Shue would later apologize for this.
Reality Subtext: Lisa Rinna also lost her older sister in her childhood, like her character Taylor McBride did.
Real-life married couple Josie Bissett (Jane) and Rob Estes (Kyle) ended up together in the finale. Sadly, they have since divorced.
Romance on the Set: Grant Show (Jake) and Laura Leighton (Sydney) dating and she and Doug Savant (Matt) eventually marrying. Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner also dated for many years several years after the series ended.
Promoted Fanboy: Lisa Rinna (Taylor) was a fan of the show before she was added to the cast in season five, even watching it with her girlfriends every Monday.
Possibly unintentional, but Perry King strongly favors Kristin Davis so it made sense for them to portray villainous father and daughter Hayley and Brooke Armstrong.
Antonio Sabato Jr. and John Enos III played brothers Jack and Bobby Parezi in season four. In spite of their close resemblances, the two men are not related.
Underage Casting: Amy Locane (b. 1971) was barely old enough to be a twentysomething, and left the show before her twenty-first birthday. She was in fact younger than most of the cast of parent series Beverly Hills, 90210, a show about high school students. Josie Bissett (b. 1970) was also in her very early twenties, and the youngest original cast member other than Locane. Her onscreen husband Thomas Calabro (b. 1959) was the oldest member of the castnote as well as he and Jack Wagner, also born in 1959, were the only main castmembers born in the '50s with over a decade between them.
Heather Locklear was originally intended for only four episodes. She became the show’s Breakout Character and lead as the series went on.
Hunter Tylo of The Bold and the Beautiful was to play the original Taylor McBride. However, she was fired due to becoming pregnant, which she had successfully sued the show's creator, Aaron Spelling and the show's producers for her dismissal.
The season three finale was going to be radically different than what transpired. Originally, Kimberly was supposed to take flying lessons so she could kidnap Sydney, but a plane crash near the White House earlier that year put the kibosh on those plans.
The "Henry" storyline almost didn't happen due to how over-the-top it was and for being a bit too similar to the Bob storyline from Twin Peaks.
The season four two-parter episode, "No Lifeguard on Duty", was originally supposed to be just one episode.
You Look Familiar: Years before being cast as Dr. Brett "Coop" Cooper, Linden Ashby played Jo's abusive ex-husband, Charles Reynolds, in season one.
Rob Estes (who portrayed Kyle McBride) played Sam Towler in two season 1 episodes, as well.
Other Trivia:
Of the original eight castmembers, Andrew Shue and Vanessa A. Williams were the last two to be hired (evidenced with both of their cast billings in the intro being in a soundstage under basic lighting instead of in front of a bright stagelight like the other actors).
