Beverly Hills 90210 alum Jason Priestley returns to the directing chair as the premiere of "The Lake" hits TheWB.com today. The stimulating teen drama revolves around four families who spend the summers at Lake Eleanor. Among the other families, Olivia Harris is spending her first summer with her aunt at "The Lake" and will have to fit in with the privileged teenagers residing on Lake Eleanor. Heartache, jealousy and family secrets sit heavy in the air surrounding "The Lake", inviting the intrigued viewers to jump in and watch.

Jason Priestley chatted with us about his role as director on "The Lake".

Starpulse: I got to preview the first 4 episodes of "The Lake". I really enjoyed the web series and thought the episodes did a good job in the short amount of time given developing a storyline and the characters.

Jason Priestley: Thanks!

SP: How did you get involved with "The Lake"?

JP: The reason I got involved was because Peter Roth at Warner Brothers (who I've worked with before) contacted me about the show and said Jordan Levin at Generate (who I've always wanted to work for but never had the chance) was also involved. And for me it just seemed to make sense working for guys I know and like and (with Jordan) who I've known and respected for a while. I've enjoyed writers Meredith Lavender and Marcie Ulin's work and I really wanted to work with them too. So, it just seemed to make sense to me.

SP: If there is a good response to the series, will there be more episodes, and maybe someday it will be developed into a television series?

JP: That's the hope with a lot a things that you do on the web. It is a launching pad for other opportunities. We just hope people watch and enjoy them and hope that enough people watch so it is successful.

(From left) Samantha Cope as Alexis, Erica Dasher as Madison, Nick Thurston as Luke and Drew Van Acker as Ryan star in 'The Lake' © Warner Bros. Television Entertainment/Dominique Borno

SP: Have you always had a passion for directing? Do you prefer it to acting?

JP: I've been directing for 17 years. Do I prefer it? I didn't know I had a choice. It's 50/50 these days and I enjoy it a lot. I like to work on both sides of the camera because it helps me out on the other side of the camera as well. But no, I don't prefer one over the other.

SP: Did you find it more challenging to direct a 10-12 minute web series opposed to 30-60 minute episodes? It seems like you have a time constraint to fit in the plot and character development.

JP: It's the shortest amount of time to get a story told but I think that was more of a challenge for the writers. Meredith Lavender and Marcie Ulin did a great job. It makes it difficult to have such a big challenge. We shot 12 episodes in 12 days. For me the big challenge was shooting that much material in that amount of time with little money; web stuff is always under-funded. The biggest challenge for me was the very ambitious amount of material to get shot with the level of perfection from the director and the actor's performances, given the challenges. I think we succeeded in producing a show that succeeded the limitations of the formation.

SP: Was the transition to directing difficult because people viewed you as solely an actor?

JP: I didn't find it that difficult, it's something I wanted to do and I've been planning for it for a while. I still shake my head now that I can look back with more experience and I think, wow, giving a 23 year old kid an episode of 90210 to direct. What was the old man (Aaron Spelling) thinking? Apparently he liked what I did because he let me do it again.

(From left) Samantha Cope as Alexis, Devin Crittenden as Drew, director and executive producer Jason Priestley, Heather Ann Davis as Olivia, Drew Van Acker as Ryan, Erica Dasher as Madison and Nick Thurston as Luke star in 'The Lake,' © Warner Bros. Television Entertainment/Mathieu Young

SP: What's on your DVR right now?

JP: Nurse Jackie (my good friend is on that show), True Blood, & Breaking Bad

SP: Do you still get recognized everywhere as Brandon Walsh? I mean, you still look like you are 20 years old, which is a good thing!

JP: Surprisingly, people recognize me and say, "Hey, it's Luke Perry!"

Go here to visit thewb.com to view the web series!



Story by Erin Demchak

Starpulse contributing writer