Tag Team, Back Again

To the delight of early '90s teen drama everywhere, Beverly Hills, 90210 stars Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling re-team for Mystery Girls , which premieres Wednesday night on ABC Family. The premise might seem oddly reminiscent of their actual lives: They play characters who co-starred in a successful '90s television show. (Check and check.) The twist: On their show-within-a-show, they solved mysteries, and, decades after the series finale, a fan lures them into a real-life case involving an actual crime. The experience inspires them to open their own private-detective company.

Okay, that premise may seem familiar, too. It's basically the plot of The Three Amigos. (Or A Bug's Life, or Galaxy Quest, if you prefer.) Even the show-within-a-show, also called Mystery Girls, might have shades of Lost's fictional TV series, Exposé, with its over-the-top campiness. (And the Exposé catchphrase of "Razzle dazzle!" seems a little punchier than Mystery Girls' "Mystery solved!")

Still, it makes sense that the pair would star in a show that so blatantly references their 90210 days. Neither actress is immune to '90s TV nostalgia. Both of them returned to West Beverly High for 90210, the series reboot that aired on the CW. Garth's Kelly Taylor was a guidance counselor at the high school for the first couple of seasons, while Spelling made a cameo as Donna Martin in a couple of episodes.

It's more interesting to see the way Mystery Girls plays off the actresses' public images. Garth plays Charlie Contour, who retreated into suburban motherhood after her hit show ended. Spelling, on the other hand, is Holly Hamilton, who's more concerned with fame and keeping her name in the spotlight. If that's not a not-so-subtle nod to Spelling's reality shows, I don't know what is.

The real mystery, though, is how much Mystery Girls will be like Beverly Hills, 90210. Here are some mini-mysteries we hope will be solved by the series:

Will they be BFFs outside of the office?

Donna and Kelly had one of the most enduring friendships on television. Together, they got each other through breakups, undiagnosed learning disabilities, multiple assaults, drug problems, and that time that Donna almost didn't graduate because she drank too much Champagne before the prom. On Mystery Girls, though, the relationship appears to be more frenemy than BFF, with Charlie and Holly as offscreen rivals with opposite personalities. It might be an adjustment to see the frosty interactions with each other.

Will it be like the time when Donna and Kelly worked together?

If you don't recall, Donna and Kelly ran a store together: Now Wear This. The boutique was meant to showcase Donna's fashion designs. We hope the partnership in Mystery Girls lasts longer, though, because eventually Kelly left to go into public relations. (That didn’t stick, either, because Kelly turned into a guidance counselor by the start of the 90210 reboot.) The private-detective business can have its ups and downs. Let's hope Garth's character doesn't bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Will Holly find her David Silver?

Donna and David were one of the longest-lasting couples on 90210. Will Holly find an equivalent match? For starters, she'd have to ditch the bad boys: David Silver proved that the nerd could get the girl. (And, eventually, marry her.) He was also younger than Donna, so Holly might have to venture into cougar territory here.

Can the show go meta and happen in real life, too?

Because if Kristen Bell wanted to start a real-life Veronica Mars-inspired detective agency like these titular Mystery Girls, we'd be totally okay with that.

Images: Getty Images; Giphy; Warner Bros. TV