Melrose Place's Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton and Daphne Zuniga Team Up for New Rewatch Podcast (Exclusive)

The actresses open up to PEOPLE about why they’re launching 'Still the Place' and how "all the stars aligned" to make it happen

Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton, Daphne Zuniga
From left: 'Melrose Place' stars Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton and Daphne Zuniga. . Photo:

Wes and Alex

More than 30 years since Melrose Place premiered, lighting up televisions with its penchant for drama and steamy romances, stars Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton and Daphne Zuniga are revisiting the soapy drama with a new rewatch podcast.

Still the Place, produced by iHeartPodcasts, will see Thorne-Smith, Leighton and Zuniga — who played Alison Parker, Sydney Andrews and Jo Reynolds, respectively — reflect on each episode, starting with the pilot, sharing behind-the-scenes stories with special guests that include the original cast and crew.

As Zuniga tells PEOPLE, the podcast became the perfect excuse to reunite the three actresses, who recorded the first few episodes together in Southern California.

“It was hard to organize a lunch, so we created a podcast where we could get together,” the actress, 61, says, as Thorne-Smith, 58, adds: “All the stars aligned.”

Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton, Daphne Zuniga
Daphne Zuniga, Laura Leighton and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Wes and Alex

For Leighton, who hadn’t watched much of the series since it aired, returning to Melrose Place has been a welcome experience.

“We have the fun of having a show in the nineties — which was such an iconic decade, anyway — and so we're watching it, talking about it and talking about how much hairspray there was and the outfits,” the actress, 55, muses.

Still the Place will also offer the three actresses the opportunity to explore which parts of the show hold up 32 years later and which bits haven’t aged quite as well. Thorne-Smith describes Melrose Place as a compelling “time capsule.” While the show featured strong female characters, it also handled topics like the LGBTQ+ community and mental wellness in a way that very much reflected America in the 90s.

“I think we're going to have lots of opportunities to look at stuff and go, that would never fly today. I've watched movies from the eighties and nineties that I'm just horrified now because I think our perspective has changed, just how we think about things and what we are talking about has clearly changed,” says Thorne-Smith. "We're looking at ourselves and going, wait, we didn't realize it then, but now it seems so glaring: certain camera angles, what they choose to photograph, storylines or the dialogue. It's interesting and it's fun to watch.”

Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Leighton, Daphne Zuniga
Daphne Zuniga, Laura Leighton and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Wes and Alex

Filming the popular series for seven seasons from 1992 to 1999 meant that the cast grew very close, grabbing lunch together at Marie Callender’s every day and hanging out in the production office in-between scenes.

“It was a very isolated environment. We were the only ones there, and they had dug a hole in the ground and built a pool for this specific show,” Zuniga explains. “We were really the only ones taking up sound stages up there. So that's where we hung out. We were family.”

“I went to that in my twenties, and I had no idea how exceptional, special and cool that was,” she continues, adding, “It's just one of the things I was asked to do.”

While Still the Place will please longtime fans, there’s also an eagerly-awaited Melrose Place revival on the horizon, which CBS is currently developing and pitching to networks and streamers. Zuniga, Leighton and Heather Locklear, who played Amanda Woodward on the series, are all set to return.

Marcia Cross, Courtney Thorne-smith, Heather Locklear, Daphne Zuniga, Amy Locane, Kristin Davis in Melrose PLace
Marcia Cross, Laura Leighton, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Heather Locklear, Daphne Zuniga, Josie Bissett and Kristin Davis in 'Melrose Place.'.

Moviestore/Shutterstock

Jack Wagner, who portrayed Dr. Peter Burns, previously told PEOPLE in April he isn’t writing off the idea of making an appearance on the drama.

Thorne-Smith, for her part, says she’d be opening to reprising her role on the reboot, too. “I would consider hanging out and playing with these guys anywhere, anytime. I adore them,” she says.

Details about the reboot are scarce, but Leighton hints the new show is being developed with “everybody in mind,” referring to the original cast.

“We would be so thrilled if a reboot is able to happen. I think it'd be a perfect full circle thing to have,” she says, adding, “It would be a dream to reconnect with everybody.”

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Still the Place is available to stream wherever you get your podcasts.

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