I Am Luke Perry documentary special is airing on TV tonight

I Am Luke Perry
(Image credit: The CW)

He emerged from small-town obscurity to become a bonafide Hollywood heartthrob and one of the defining figures of the '90s—and tonight, a brand-new documentary will let you meet the man behind the pop-cultural phenomenon that was Luke Perry.

I Am Luke Perry—a non-fiction feature film centered on the beloved American actor, best known for his star-making turn as the leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding bad boy Dylan McKay on the Fox hit Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000—will air on The CW on Saturday, March 1 from 8pm to 10pm Eastern Time. It's the second of three new I Am titles hitting the network this winter, following last week's premiere of I Am Joe Frazier on the titular boxing legend and preceding next Saturday's debut of I Am Raquel Welch, centered on the acting icon and sex symbol.

Speaking of sex symbols, Luke Perry was a reigning teen idol in the 1990s and the early 2000s, thanks not only to his signature performance as Dylan McKay but also with roles in films such as Buffy the Vampire Slater, 8 Seconds and The Fifth Element. Later work included series such as Riverdale—in which he starred as Archie's dad Fred Andrews—and films such as Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which earned the star a Screen Actors Guild nomination alongside the rest of the film's ensemble cast. Sadly, Perry's career was cut short at only 52 years only when he died on March 4, 2019, due to a stroke.

Directed by Adrian Buitenhuis, the 90-minute documentary will intimately delve into the life and legacy of the late actor, with insights from Perry's closest loved ones and colleagues. The moving tribute was executive produced by Perry's longtime pal and Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Jason Priestley and also features personal stories from the likes of Perry's 8 Seconds co-star Stephen Baldwin and his fellow Oz star Dean Winters.

To watch I Am Luke Perry tonight, you're going to need access to The CW. The new documentary film is readily available for anyone with a traditional pay-TV subscription or TV antenna that receives local station signals, as well as live TV streaming subscribers to Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

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Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere. 

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